Rediscovery
by Eleanor J
Summary: Cuddy is trapped during a blizzard at House's place. They reconnect and try to take that next step, but their own insecurities get in the way. Can they get over them to have a happyish ending?
1. Chapter 1

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: I do not own House. If I did … well I can't print what I would do if I did own him, but be assured that it would be very naughty.

Spoilers: I guess for the next episode "Need To Know". Nothing specific because I know nothing. Just generalities.

Chapter 1

Cuddy peered through the front windshield of her car as she questioned for the thousandth time the wisdom of trying to go to work during what was gearing up to be one of the worst blizzards in New Jersey history. The blizzard itself had snuck up on the local meteorologists. They had been predicting only a couple of inches of snow when she went to bed, but by the time her alarm went off in the morning, they were saying that the local area was going to be covered in at least a couple of feet of snow by the end of the day.

Cuddy had quickly thought about her options. She could stay at her home – trapped – with nothing to do for the next couple of days or she could get some clothes together and head for the hospital before things got really bad. It hadn't taken long for her to get dressed, pack a few sets of clothing and some toiletry items, and get into her car to go to the hospital.

She was about half way there when she came to the conclusion that she may have made a mistake. The roads themselves were slippery. "_But not any worse than they had been in Michigan a thousand times before,_" she kept on telling herself. The problem was visibility. The snow was blowing hard and making it difficult for Cuddy to see where she was going.

"_You couldn't just sit back and enjoy a vacation, could you Lisa?_" she asked herself as she was carefully making a turn onto a residential street. Suddenly, a blur crossed her path and she slammed on the brakes. Her car swerved around and around as she unsuccessfully struggled to regain control of vehicle. She saw the light post in front of her just a second before she crashed head on into it. The seatbelt strained against her chest, and the airbag deployed as she came to a sudden stop.

Cuddy could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she opened her eyes. She could see the white talcum from the airbag mixing with the snow that was entering her car from the cracked windshield. She took several deep breaths to try and steady herself as she checked for injuries. Her neck was a little sore. She had some scrapes on her face and some small burns on her arms from the airbag, but overall she was fine. She grabbed her bag and slowly got out of the car to see if it looked like it was about ready to burst into flames. Her front end was pretty smashed up, but she could detect no signs of anything catching on fire.

Cuddy opened her purse and looked for her cell phone. It wasn't there. She thought back to her morning and realized that she must have left the damn thing on her kitchen table as she was getting her other things ready for work.

"_Just brilliant, Lisa," _she told herself, mockingly. She pulled her coat around herself as she realized that she would have to go to one of these townhouses, pray that the person who lived there wasn't some sort of deviant, knock on the door, convince them to let her come inside and quite possibly stay there for the duration of the storm. Cuddy did not like her chances.

She looked through the falling snow as she tried to remember exactlywhat street she was on,and then it hit her. She knew exactly where she was. She was on House's street. Cuddy felt relieved and worse at the same time. House was definitely a deviant, but she knew that she'd be safe there. But he would be vocal about her stupid mistake. She could just see him picking at her – possibly for the next few days – over how she didn't think that it was possible for the hospital to run without her. Cuddy leaned against the car for a moment, contemplating how yesterday she had been enjoying the fact that House was on a mini-vacation and she wouldn't have to deal with him for the rest of the week.

Cuddy hadn't been surprised when he asked for a few days off after Stacy had resigned from the hospital. He needed time to process whatever happened between Stacy and himself and his feelings about her subsequent departure, and he needed to do that in a place where the walls were not transparent. Cuddy understood that. She hated the thought of disturbing him in the middle of his brood and quite possibly catching him in the middle of an alcoholic binge, but she realized that she didn't have much of a choice. She shouldered her bags and started the trek to House's place.

A/N: I know it's short, but it's only the beginning. Please read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: See first chapter

Chapter Two

House sat at the piano as he pondered the weather outside. He ran his hand through his already rumpled hair and glared at the snow. It wasn't so much that he had big plans for his day, but he hated that the choice of doing anything had been taken away from him.

House sighed as he took a sip of his coffee and then continued to play the piano. His hands lightly caressed the keys as he thought about his vacation so far. He was strangely proud of the fact that this was the beginning of his third day off, and he hadn't gotten blindingly drunk. He'd had a drink or two, of course, but the first time that Stacy had left he had spent the next few days in an alcoholic daze followed by the mother of all hangovers.

This time, though, was different. He didn't feel like he had to drink to escape from the pain of her being gone. That wasn't to say that Stacy leaving again didn't hurt. It did. But it was a clean pain. The kind of pain that accompanies healing. He knew that they had made the right decision for both of them. She deserved to be with someone who could put her first. House hadn't been able to do that even before the infarction.

He thought back to their relationship. Surprisingly, he and Stacy had been quite the power couple when they were together. They were both hard working professionals who loved to play in their limited free time. The weekends that they didn't work were spent going out on the town. Stacy had always been dragging him to one function or another. He hadn't liked it, but he had gone to them for her.

But if something ever came up at work, she was left to fend by herself. He remembered one case where he had stayed at the hospital for three days straight as he tried to diagnose a patient. He had talked to her a couple of times on the phone, but his mind was never fully with her. He knew that she resented his ability to separate himself so completely from her.

He was, if anything, more obsessed with his work now, and the idea of spending his free time at fundraisers or cocktail parties made him cringe. The past few years had completely robbed him of what little patience he had with social niceties to begin with.

He would have had to change for Stacy to stay with him, and he really had no desire to change. Not even for her.

House's stomach made a gurgling noise, and he looked up to check the clock. It was definitely past time for breakfast. He grabbed his cane and began to make his way to the kitchen when he heard a knock at his door. Surprised, he stared at it for a moment, trying to deduce who could be at his door in the middle of a blizzard. Wilson? Could be, even though House had told him that he wanted to be alone. Cameron? Another possibility. She would want to do the Florence Nightingale thing and make sure that he was taking care of himself. The unknown visitor knocked again – this time more insistently. House shook himself out of his reverie and limped his way to the door and opened it.

To say that he was shocked by what he saw would have been an understatement. Dr. Lisa Cuddy stood at his door bundled up like an Eskimo with a bag slung over each shoulder.

"Close your mouth and let me in," she ordered in her best administrative voice. House was so surprised that he complied without saying anything.

"I can't feel my face anymore," Cuddy exclaimed as she slowly made her way to his couch and sat down.

House closed the door and followed her into his living room.

"Cuddy?"

"Yes."

"There's a blizzard going on."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Gee, really? Is that what all of that snow means? I'm so glad that you're here to explain these things to me," she replied in a cutting voice.

House ignored her sarcasm. "Cuddy, what are you doing here, in my house, during my vacation, in the middle of a blizzard, with an overnight bag? I mean if you finally want to have that Sex-Olympics weekend that we've been discussing, then you really should have given me some more warning. My whips need to be oiled, and my chains are in the shop."

"Shut up, House," Cuddy said as she tried to control her temper. She wondered if taking her chances with the neighbors might have been the better move. "I was trying to get to the hospital before the storm got too bad, and I was making a turn and something ran out in front of me. I braked, skidded, lost control of the car and hit a lamppost. My car is pretty much totaled, and you were only a block away. Believe me, only the thought of imminent death could make me violate your 'sanctuary' like this."

House wrinkled his forehead and an expression of concern flashed across his face for a moment, but then it was gone. "You were in an accident?"

"I'm fine," she responded. "Just some scrapes and bruises. My wrists are slightly burned from the airbag, and I'm a bit sore, but otherwise I'm fine."

"Tell me, do you get a big bonus at the end of the year for acts of stupidity on behalf of the hospital's welfare?" House asked bitingly as he sat down next at her and gently held her chin with his fingers so that he could get a better look at her injuries. Cuddy, ignoring his remark, jerked away and swatted his hand.

"I told you, I'm fine."

House's eyes narrowed as he grasped her chin once more. Cuddy raised her hand again, but was surprised when he smacked her hand first.

"Cuddy, you and I both know that it is very difficult to inspect yourself after an accident. Now you can either argue with me and drag this out over the next half an hour, or you can just get it over with, but I am going to examine you."

Cuddy glared at him a moment before crossing her arms in front of her and spurting out, "Fine."

House's amusement at her anger battled with his own annoyance at her careless actions. He always found stupidity irksome, but stupidity in normally intelligent people was particularly galling -- especially when that stupidity threatened to inconvenience him over the next few days. He ignored her angry stare as he inspected her injuries. She was right. They were mostly superficial, but the chemical burns on her wrists had to be painful.

He shifted his attention from her hands to her feet and began to take her boots off.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she jerked her feet away from him.

"Indulging in my foot fetish," he replied. "You just walked at least a block in sub-zero temperatures. I'm just making sure your feet are okay," he said in the same tone of voice that he used when he was explaining something to a particularly dense patient.

"They're fine, House."

"Cuddy, you're not going to make me repeat myself, are you?" They stared dangerously at each other again, but Cuddy knew that she wouldn't have any kind of peace until he looked at her feet. She silently acquiesced and he continued to take off her boots and socks so that he could inspect her toes. He smiled at her red toenails.

"You know what they say about women who paint their toenails red?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"That they're more likely to kick cripples who are making smart remarks instead of looking for frostbite?" Cuddy quipped back.

"I'm a good little multi-tasker. I can do both," he assured her. "Your toes are fine, but don't move," he ordered. He got up, grabbed his cane and headed for his kitchen. He came back shortly with a black medical bag and pulled out some burn ointment. Cuddy stared at the bag in surprise and then began to chuckle.

House looked into Cuddy's face as he tried to figure out what was so funny and saw her staring at his bag.

"Yes?" he asked a bit defensively.

"I'm sorry," she replied unapologetically, "but you are the last doctor I would ever imagine having one of those old fashioned medical bags. Doctors usually used them when they went to see patients, you know, in person."

House sighed as he looked down and continued to apply the ointment. "It was a present from my mom when I graduated from Medical School. I don't want to just leave it empty and lying around so I keep my first-aid stuff in it."

Cuddy stared at his down turned head and felt a surprising burst of tenderness. There was something very sweet about him sometimes. Of course, the other ninety-nine percent of the time he was annoying enough to induce a homicidal rage.

House looked up when she didn't say anything and she fought for a neutral expression. She wasn't sure that she was entirely successful, but House – miraculously – didn't say anything. He finished applying the ointment. "You should change out of those wet clothes into something more comfortable. Perhaps a little satin and lace?" he leered as he began to put away his supplies.

Cuddy ignored his suggestive remark. "I need to use your phone," she told him. "I have to call the police and let them know about the accident, and then I need to call the hospital and find out what's going on."

"Phone's over there," House pointed to the coffee table as he left the room.

Cuddy actually called the hospital first, unable to wait any longer to find out what was going on there. She managed to talk to Wilson who assured her that everything was running smoothly.

"It's actually really dead here," he said. "The blizzard is keeping all of the hypochondriacs indoors. Right now we're working with the police on a way of getting dialysis patients here for their treatment, but I think we've got a handle on it."

"Good," she said and hesitated a moment. She debated telling Wilson where she was, but decided that she didn't want to deal with any more rumors at the hospital than she had to. "If you need me, page me," she told him and hung up.

She then called the police department to report her accident and to see if there was any possibility of getting a ride to the hospital.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but right now it's really not safe for us to be running a chauffer service," the man answered a bit snarkily. Cuddy rolled her eyes in annoyance, but managed not to lose her temper.

"I understand," she told him.

"You are in a safe place, correct ma'am?" the officer asked.

"Yes, I'm staying with a … colleague," she answered and gave him House's number and told him to let her know if some sort of driving service got started to take doctors to the hospital.

She hung up and stared at the phone a moment. She had been very close to saying that she was staying with a friend, but something inside her had balked at using that word to describe her current relationship with House. They used to be friends. And although things had been friendlier between them lately, she couldn't let herself forget that House had ended their real friendship after the infarction. She would never forget the look of angry betrayal that he had given her when he realized what she and Stacy had done. After that, she had merely been his colleague and boss.

She turned around and saw House standing at the entrance to the kitchen. She gave him a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, I was hoping that they could send someone out here to get me and take me to the hospital, but apparently, I'm not critical," she said sardonically.

House didn't even try to hide his smile at her statement. "Obviously they don't realize that the hospital would cease to exist if you weren't there to micromanage every single detail. How many rolls of toilet paper are there in the third floor women's bathroom?"

She gave him a dirty look even as she fought to hide her amusement at his statement. "I'm going to go change," she told him as she went to grab her bag. She was beginning to get sore from the accident, and Cuddy wondered if House had any non-narcotic painkillers.

"Bathroom's that way," he pointed to a door. She nodded and headed in that direction.

"Cuddy …"

She turned around. He just stood there looking at her with a serious expression on his face, but he didn't say anything.

"House?" she prodded.

He shook his head and looked away. "Let me know if you need anything," he finally said.

She stared at him a moment before nodding her head and continuing on her way, but she had the distinct feeling that he had wanted to tell her something completely different.

A/N: Please R/R. Thanks to all who reviewed the first chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.

A/N 1: This is the last part of the previous chapter from House's pov. I know it's short, but the next chapter should be longer.

Chapter 3

House half-listened to Cuddy as he put his medical bag away. He smiled to himself as he heard her call the hospital before the police. "_Mommy's gotta see how Baby's doing with the sitters." _

House sighed as he contemplated the situation before him. He was a man who enjoyed his solitude, and having it disturbed like this was irksome. But she was here and there was nothing he could do about it. He had to admit that if he had to be stuck with someone during a blizzard, Cuddy wasn't a bad choice. He would have preferred Wilson, of course, but at least Cuddy was rarely boring and easy on the eyes.

"_It could be wors_e," he said to himself. "_It could be Foreman, Chase or Cameron stuck here with me_." House had a deep, if unspoken, affection for his staff, but the idea of being trapped with one of them in close quarters for several days set his teeth on edge. Foreman would do nothing but argue with him. Chase would just sit there like a lump out of fear of incurring House's wrath, and Cameron would spend the entire time trying to get him to open up about his feelings. House shuddered at the thought as he again focused his attention on Cuddy.

She was talking to Wilson. He could hear the relief in her voice when she heard that everything was all right at the hospital. House listened to see if she told Wilson that she was stranded at his place and grinned when she neglected to mention it. _"So you don't want people to know that we're shacking up, Dr. Cuddy. I'll be sure to store that little nugget of information away for future use."_

Cuddy hung up with the hospital and began to dial again. House glanced out his kitchen window and saw the snow continue to fall steadily. He knew that Cuddy would try to arrange a ride to the hospital, but he also knew that unless there was a severe shortage of doctors somewhere in the city, she would probably be unsuccessful.

He peered through the doorway to watch her as she talked on the phone. She asked the officer if there was any way to get her to the hospital. Her face scrunched up in annoyance at his reply. House grinned. _"Buddy, you don't know how lucky you are to be on the other side of town. I've seen her make grown men cry."_

"Yes, I'm staying with a … colleague," he heard her tell the police officer.

Most people wouldn't have noticed the brief pause before she said 'colleague', but House wasn't most people. He had the advantages of being hyper-observant and of knowing Cuddy pretty well. She had been about to say something else, and her expression made him doubt that she was going to tell the officer that she was staying with the local jackass. There had been a momentary flash of sadness across her face that she quickly controlled. Before he could analyze her expression further, she turned around and saw him standing there.

"I'm sorry. I was hoping that they could send someone out here to get me and take me to the hospital, but apparently, I'm not critical," she said a bit ruefully. House couldn't help but smile at her disgruntled expression.

"Obviously they don't realize that the hospital would cease to exist if you weren't there to micromanage every single detail. How many rolls of toilet paper are there in the third floor women's bathroom?" he teased. She rolled her eyes at him, but he could tell that she was amused.

"I'm going to go change," she told him and walked stiffly to get her bag. His eyes narrowed a little in concern as he noticed her soreness from the accident growing, but he knew that any comment he made would not be appreciated, and he didn't feel like provoking her at this exact moment.

"Bathroom's that way," he pointed. She nodded and headed towards the door.

"Cuddy …" he heard himself call to her. She turned around and his mind went blank. A part of him wanted to reach across the past few years of hostility and ask her how she was _really_ doing. He wanted to know if she missed hanging out together. Having lunch. Talking. But the rest of him was content with the status quo of his life. Why rock the boat with the answers to those questions?

He wasn't angry with her anymore. If he was honest with himself, he hadn't been for quite a while now. He would never completely get over the shock of betrayal he had felt when he discovered what she and Stacy had done to him, but he understood why they did it.

House's dilemma was that even though deep down he missed Cuddy's friendship, he wasn't sure if there was room in his life for it. Friendship required something from you. Friends made you do stuff that you wouldn't normally do. She already had some 'control' over him by virtue of being his boss. He wasn't sure if he wanted to offer her any more.

"House?"

Cuddy drew him out of his inner thoughts and he realized that he wasn't ready to talk to her about this. He wasn't sure if he ever would be. He broke eye contact and shook his head.

"Let me know if you need anything," he told her. She nodded and entered the bathroom. Perhaps having Chase there would have been better. At least he wouldn't have caused this emotional upheaval.

A/N 2: I want to thank everyone who's reviewed the story. I'm glad that you're enjoying it.


	4. Chapter 4

Rediscovery

By Ellie J.

Disclaimer: I don't own House or Cuddy or anything else associated with the show. I'm just having fun.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. I had written the chapter, but after I re-read it, I realized that I accidentally wrote a chapter to another story. That is to say that I enjoyed what I wrote, but ultimately it didn't fit with what I'm trying to do here. So to make a long story short (too late!) I had to re-think what I wanted to do with this chapter and re-write it. But this does mean that sometime in the future there will probably be an amazingly short period between chapters as I recycle (with some minor adjustments) the one I originally wrote.

Chapter 4

Cuddy studied herself in the mirror as she took off her wet clothes. She could see a bruise beginning to form where the seatbelt had jerked against her shoulder. Her face was covered with little scrapes from the air bag, and her hair was looking a little crazier than she usually preferred. Cuddy decided that she could at least do something about her hair and began to rummage around in her bag looking for the hairbrush she knew she had packed.

"Bingo," she said to herself as she found it. She brushed her hair, ignoring the ache in her arms as she pulled it back into a ponytail. She then went back to the bag to look for some dry clothes to put on. After a little consideration she decided to wear the sweats that she had originally packed to sleep in. All of her other clothing was a little too ... professional for being stranded with a miserable jackass during a blizzard.

She pulled out the sweatshirt and stopped. It was the Michigan one she had bought at Homecoming several years back. A small smile came to her lips as she lightly traced the letters with her fingers.

Looking back, she realized it was semi-miraculous that the two of them even met in the first place. She had been an undergrad. He had been in Medical School. They didn't know any of the same people or participated in any of the same activities. She chuckled lightly as she remembered the day that they met.

------------

_Cuddy walked into the auditorium where the lecture was being held and began looking for a seat. She eventually opted for a seat in the back where there weren't quite as many people and she could spread out a bit for better note taking. Her Political Science professor had offered them extra credit if they attended one of the lectures that the Sociology Department was sponsoring. She didn't really need the extra credit, but she preferred to be prepared._

_Cuddy mentally checked off her schedule for the evening as she waited for the lecture to start. After this, she was going to the library to do research for a term paper that was due in her Biology course. Then she had a History study group meeting at 9:00 p.m. in her dorm's lounge, followed by reading and taking notes on the latest chapters assigned for Econ. Her thoughts were pulled back to the present as the lights dimmed. She pulled out her pen as the speaker stepped up to the podium._

_Cuddy hadn't been there five minutes before she came to the conclusion that this woman did not know what she was talking about. She kept rambling on about how studying the interactions between the nucleus and electrons in atoms could help people learn how to handle hostage situations better. Cuddy had a difficult time wrapping her head around this premise, but what made it even worse was that this woman obviously had no idea how the nucleus and electrons of an atom interacted with one another which made all of her 'groundbreaking points' invalid._

_She closed her eyes for a moment and thought about how she could be at the library studying instead of listening to this drivel._

"_You're not imagining some hot lesbian fantasy with this idiotic woman, are you?" she heard a voice next to her whisper. "You could do so much better." _

_Cuddy turned around and saw a man with unruly brown hair and very blue eyes smirking at her. She gave him a dirty look and turned back to her notes, determined to ignore him. He chuckled next to her. The stranger then proceeded to spend the rest of the lecture making comments in Cuddy's ear about where exactly the lecturer's theories went wrong, what kind of underwear she was probably wearing and who she slept with to get this gig. _

_Cuddy was torn between annoyance and amusement, but strove to keep her face blank. She was determined not to embarrass herself by either sticking her pen in this loon's leg, or falling out of her seat in laughter. It wasn't until he started singing a little ditty about electrons and the Apple Dumpling Gang, that she finally lost control and began to giggle. Tears fell down her face as she attempted to stifle her laughter. She turned to try and glare at him, but he only stared at her with a triumphant grin on his face._

_The lecture ended shortly thereafter, and Cuddy turned to confront her tormentor, but he was ready for her._

"_You have remarkable focus for someone your age," he told her._

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Normally when I do that to someone in your age group, I get shushed, smacked or laughed at within five minutes. You held out for over a half an hour. I'm impressed."_

_She stared at him in disbelief. "You annoy people like this regularly?"_

"_I'm just conducting some research on irritability levels in people of various age groups," he paused for a moment before he continued. "Plus, I just really like watching people get annoyed. Are you hungry? Let's go grab something to eat," he said as they got out of their seats and headed towards the exit._

_She snorted. "I'm not having dinner with you."_

"_Why?"_

"_One, I don't know you. Two, you're a self-admitted jerk. And three, I have to study."_

"_My name is Greg House. That takes care of the first problem." Cuddy's eyes widened at his name. "I see you've heard of me," he said smugly._

"_You do have a bit of a reputation," she said cautiously._

"_That I'm an irresistible genius?" he asked._

"_No, that you're insane. Brilliant, but insane. And a huge jackass." She said matter-of-factly as she opened the door to the building and he followed her out._

"_I really can't deny any of that," he replied. "But still come and eat with me."_

"_Again, why?"_

"_One, you know who I am now. Two, I may be a jerk, but I am never boring. And three, you really don't need to study."_

"_I don't?" she said sarcastically._

"_No. You came to this waste of time," he said as he gestured to the building behind them, "to get some extra credit. But I can't see someone with your focus having problems with grades. You're a classic overachiever. You probably get pissed off when you get an A- on something instead of an A. You tell yourself that you don't have time for frivolous things like parties and hanging out with other people. You have goals," he said mockingly. "Things that you have to accomplish. But at the same time, you're lonely." _

_Cuddy felt herself stiffen at his words. He had struck a nerve. So she studied a lot – so what? Her grades were beginning to drop a little and she needed them if she was going to get into Medical School. And as for friends …_

"_I have lots of friends," she told him._

"_No, you have 'Study Buddies'," he said knowingly. "Other people who share your classes that you get together with to go over notes and make fun of the professors. But when was the last time you just hung out with someone without having some sort of academic motive behind it? When was the last time you really laughed like you did back in the lecture?"_

_Cuddy felt her stomach quake. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had really let loose and laughed, but she wouldn't tell him that. "I laugh all of the time. And I go to parties every weekend. I'm a regular party pants," she said haughtily._

"_Party pants? I seriously doubt that," he replied. _

_Cuddy's temper hit its boiling point. "You think you know me after watching me during a forty-five minute lecture? You don't know anything about me!" she hissed at him as she turned around and walked away. _

"_Wait – God I don't even know your name – Party Pants!" he said as he ran after her and grabbed her arm. She turned around and gave him her best glare. He merely smiled. "I didn't mean to make you angry." She shot him a disbelieving look. "Ok, I meant to make you angry, but not so much that it would drive you away," he took a deep breath and continued on. "I'm just saying that you're the type of person who's going to have a heart attack by the time you're thirty-two if you don't learn to relax a little. Get some hobbies. Do something non-work related. Start by eating with me." _

_She was surprised to feel herself begin to waver. He was an asshole. Why would she want to have a meal with him? Why was he so determined to have a meal with her? Was this how he picked up women and tried to get them into bed? He told them that they were no fun and they slept with him to prove otherwise?_

_He must have read her thoughts on her face. "Not as a date," he clarified. "Just food and talk." _

"_Why?" she asked again as she examined his expression._

_He lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze. "Because, despite what you may think, I don't think that I know everything about you. I don't know what personal demons would drive someone so young and pretty so hard." He paused and briefly met her eyes before looking away again. "And I find you interesting. That doesn't happen very often," he admitted. She scrutinized him closely before finally nodding her head. _

"_Great," he smiled at her. "I know a great pizza place not too far from here." He pointed in a direction and they began to walk down the street. House looked over to her, "If you don't tell me your name, I'll be forced to call you Party Pants all night long," he teased._

_She grinned reluctantly. "Cuddy. Lisa Cuddy," she replied._

"_All right, Cuddy. Let's see how much pizza we can eat."_

_------------_

That was the beginning of her friendship with House. They had spent at least one night a week together after that day until he graduated from Med School. Of course, they spent most of the time arguing about everything and nothing, but she found that she enjoyed sharpening her wits against his. She even began to make other non-Study Buddy friends. She laughed at the irony of the misanthrope telling her that she needed to get out more, but he had been right. She had been on the road to a nervous breakdown without even realizing it.

People just meeting them often assumed that they hated each other and were surprised that they willingly hung out together. Cuddy herself wasn't sure she could have described their relationship with mere words. Underneath all of the arguments and the snark, they 'got' one another. Cuddy knew that House cared about things more deeply than he let on, and House was one of the few people who knew that Cuddy wasn't as 'together' as she liked to portray herself.

But this understanding was purely non-verbal. They rarely talked about personal things and because of this, there were many things that they didn't know about each other. It didn't bother her, but there were times when she would catch House looking at her like she was a giant puzzle, but he never voiced any of the million questions that must have been floating around in his head. It was only many years later that she fully appreciated the restraint he had shown.

Contrary to popular belief at the hospital, they had never been lovers. Sure, she had been attracted to him, but Cuddy really hadn't wanted to deal with romantic entanglements when they first met. And by the time she felt like dating again, they were living in separate cities. And by the time they were living in the same city again, he was seeing Stacy. And after Stacy …

"Cuddy, what's taking so long?" House's question jerked her back into the present. "You didn't fall in, did you?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just sore and it's taking me a little longer than usual to change."

"If you need help dressing or fastening any delightful feminine undergarments, I'm right here," House said with a leer in his voice. "Especially if they're black and lacy."

"I'm managing just fine, thanks," she replied dryly.

"I'm just trying to be a good host," he said with a faux-hurt expression in his voice.

Cuddy smiled. "If I have any problems, I'll be sure to let you know," she told him.

There was silence at the door for a minute, but Cuddy didn't hear him walk away. "House, is there something you want?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm reheating some leftover Chinese and there's enough for two people. If you want some, that is. If you don't, then you're on your own." His voice betrayed his unease at having to suddenly play host.

"How leftover?" she asked. Knowing House, this food could be two weeks old and he would just throw away the green fuzzy parts and give the rest to her.

"Last night," he said in an exasperated voice. "Cuddy, I'm not going to give you food poisoning. I would end up having to take care of you."

"Of course. I don't know what I was worried about," Cuddy said sarcastically. "Chinese sounds good. I'll be out in a minute." She looked down again at the Michigan sweatshirt. Cuddy found herself surprisingly reluctant to put it on. She shook her head in frustration as she quashed down those feelings. It was just a sweatshirt. She put it on and headed out of the bathroom.

TBC

A/N2: Please read and review. They're like drugs to me!


	5. Chapter 5

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine. Just playing. If they were, then Stacy would have been out of there a long time ago and Cuddy and Wilson would get much more screen time.

A/N1: Thanks for the reviews. They were fabulous and much appreciated. I would especially like to thank Roo from the House-Cuddy archive. Your comment about being worried about House's reaction to Cuddy's sweatshirt sparked my muse and helped me get to where I wanted to be by the end of this chapter.

Chapter 5

"I hope you put the seat back up when you were done," Cuddy heard House yell as she made her way to his kitchen. "I refuse to live with fascist feminine rules concerning toilet seats when no woman lives here." He glanced at her briefly and smirked. "I am man. Hear me roar. And I prefer my toilet seats up."

Cuddy ignored him in favor of the delicious aromas that filled the kitchen. "Smells good," she said.

"We've got your Kung Pao Chicken, Shrimp in Garlic Sauce, General Tso's Chicken all with fried rice and egg rolls. I left two pain pills there on the table with some water. I didn't think you were skilled enough to take 'em dry."

"What kind of pain pills?" she asked him.

"None of the good stuff," he told her. "I don't know how long we're going to be stuck here, and I'm not wasting my beauties on you. Those won't take care of all of the pain, but they should take the edge off a bit."

She smiled as she took the pills and swallowed them, ignoring the glass of water. House just grinned as he continued to re-heat the food. She eyed the multiple cartons of food laid out on the table. "You ordered that much food just last night? Were you having some sort of party?"

"That's what you do with Chinese food," he explained as if Cuddy was a child. "You order tons of it and live off the leftovers for the next week. Oh, I forgot. You prepare your own gourmet dinner every night after you get home from your eighteen hour workday at the hospital."

Cuddy let out a tiny bark of laughter. "I'm lucky to get the stuff that the cafeteria's about ready to throw away at the end of the day."

House looked up at Cuddy, about to say something, when he finally noticed the sweatshirt she was wearing and felt a little jolt. The entire reason he was putting so much energy into bantering with her was to avoid any deep thoughts about their previous …closeness, and she comes out wearing an article of clothing that forced him to remember. He turned away without saying anything and opened the refrigerator to get a bottle of soy sauce. He placed it on the table and sat down.

"Dig in," he told her.

Cuddy was immediately aware of his change in mood and of its cause, but offered no comment. What could she say? '_Sorry for accidentally bringing a sweatshirt guaranteed to make us both uncomfortable._' He would probably just grumble and say the sweatshirt had nothing to do with his mood and that he was grumpy because he had suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to tape 'Judge Judy' this morning. She sat down opposite from him, served herself some Kung Pao Chicken and an egg roll and joined him in silent eating.

It was one of the most uncomfortable meals she'd ever shared with House. It wasn't as bad as the time where they had been at a hospital fundraiser and he had "accidentally" mistaken the wife of a prominent donor for a high-class call girl, but it was a close second.

Cuddy mechanically ate her food as she surreptitiously watched him eat his. He was lost in his own thoughts, and from the look on his face they weren't pleasant ones. She reflected on all of the things that had happened to him recently and uncomfortably acknowledged that her presence was probably not helping.

Stacy had just left his life once again. Cuddy didn't know all of the details – just Wilson saying that House loved being self-destructive and miserable – but she did know that he felt bad enough that he took a vacation to lick his wounds in private. And here she was intruding on that privacy. Not on purpose, certainly. But that didn't stop her from feeling a little guilty about their whole situation.

House absently reached into a paper bag that he had on the table and pulled out a couple of fortune cookies and threw one at her. She caught it deftly and stared at it a moment before turning her eyes towards him.

He caught her questioning gaze and answered, "You can't eat Chinese food without having a fortune cookie. It's the law." His words were light, but his tone still distant.

She gave him a small smile and opened up the wrapper. She broke the cookie in half and pulled out the little piece of paper. Cuddy's eyes widened in surprise as she read the fortune, and then she began to giggle. Her giggles soon turned into full-fledged laughter as she gaped at the paper in her hand.

House just stared at her, wondering what could be written that could cause such hilarity. "Don't tell me your fortune says that you're going to be stuck in a blizzard with a cripple?" he asked her.

Cuddy laughed harder. "No," she finally was able to gasp out. "I think that the Fortune Writer was having a bad day when he wrote this," she said as she offered the little piece of paper to House. He took it, his curiosity growing as to what could make Cuddy lose control like this. He read the fortune and immediately understood.

"You like Chinese food," he read aloud and watched as Cuddy burst into laughter yet again. House felt the chuckles rise in his own chest, and before he could stop it, he was laughing just as hard as Cuddy.

"Maybe he was afraid of getting sued for giving out a false fortune," Cuddy suggested as she enjoyed the sight of seeing House really laugh. He didn't do that often anymore.

"You may be right," House replied. "This fortune definitely seems like the ultimate consequence of a litigious society. Soon we're going to have fortunes that say, 'You breathe oxygen' or 'You drink liquids'."

"Don't forget your personal favorite, 'You are a liar'," Cuddy told him.

"Yeah, well I've found out that particular truism gets you sued for entirely different reasons," House said dryly and Cuddy started laughing again.

"Don't I know it," she replied.

Their laughter slowly died down, and they once again fell into silence, albeit a much more comfortable one than the last. Cuddy again studied House through lowered eyes as he looked at the fortune again and smiled to himself. He caught her looking at him and his smile faded a bit. He put the fortune down and concentrated on his food.

She once more felt the guilt snake its way through her stomach. She knew that he would never accept an apology from her, but she didn't want to ignore the fact that her being stuck at his apartment at this particular time was very awkward to say the least.

"House …" she began.

He looked up and met her gaze. He could see her feelings written there.

"Cuddy, it's not your fault that you're stuck here," he told her shortly.

"I'm the one that decided to drive in a blizzard."

He half-laughed and half-groaned. "You can't be anything other than what you are, Cuddy. I know that better than most."

She sighed and looked away. "I know that me being here is an imposition … especially now. I just … I don't want you to think that you have to be nice to me."

House laughed in surprise. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm not nice."

"Not normal person nice. I mean nice for you. You've been much more courteous than I thought you would be when I first showed up." He snorted at her statement. "You have," she insisted. You were adamant about treating my injuries."

"A little thing called the Hippocratic Oath," he reminded her.

"Which you ignore when it suits you. You're feeding me."

"Well I guess I could let you starve. Or if it makes you feel any better, then you can do the dishes," he told her in an exasperated voice.

"We're eating on paper plates with plastic forks," she pointed out.

"Look Cuddy, I get what you're saying…" he began, but she put her hand up as she interrupted him.

"I'm just saying that I know my being here is interrupting your …" she paused as she carefully chose her words, "processing of recent events."

"Processing," he smiled sardonically at her tact. "Good word there." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Her guilt was going to drive him crazy if he didn't do something about it soon. A plan began to form in his mind. House didn't think that he'd normally be able to pull it off, but she was off of her game just enough that he thought he could get away with it. He carefully schooled his features as he looked over to Cuddy. "Look, if it will make you feel any better I'll go and do what I planned on doing today as if you never showed up."

"Yes, by all means. I won't be in your way too much?"

"Oh no. In fact, your being here may add a certain zest to the whole thing," he told her in as neutral a voice as he could manage. "Are you done confessing?" he asked.

She nodded as she gave him a tiny glare.

"Good, let's clean up and get you settled on the couch," he told her as he started to put the food away. "You're going to want to be in a comfortable position once those muscles start to get really sore and can't move around as much." Cuddy was a little suspicious of his solicitousness, but the idea of resting on the couch sounded so good that she didn't say anything.

They soon cleaned up the mess, and House helped her get settled on the couch. He even brought her some books and magazines to look through. He went to the television, turned it on and put a movie into the DVD player. It was at this point that she discovered that she had every reason to be wary of his motives.

He was watching porn.

She looked over at him with incredulous eyes and found him gazing at her with a mock innocent expression on his face.

"This is what I planned on doing today to help me in my 'processing'," he informed her as he turned back to the television.

She inwardly writhed in anger at him. She was just trying to be nice, and he had to twist it and turn it into … this! Well, she'd show him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of reacting to his little plan.

"No, that's fine," she told him as she grabbed one of the books he had given her and began to read.

House smiled. He'd give her twenty minutes top before she lugged the book at him. He smiled at his foresight of only giving her paperbacks.

Thirty minutes later he was trying to hide his amusement as she valiantly attempted to read her book. House could see her eye twitch every time she heard the moans of ecstasy emanate from the television. He was very impressed when she passed the twenty-minute mark without making any comment, but he knew that she was on the verge of breaking. She just needed that one extra push.

"Wow, look at that acting," he said in a very impressed tone of voice. "That girl and her fun bags are going to go far in this industry. Just look at them jiggle."

Cuddy felt the last thread of control slip away as she took the book she was reading and hurled it at House.

"You son of a bitch!" she yelled at him. "You can't let me be nice. You had no intention of watching porn today. You're just doing it to make me crazy!"

"What will you do if I say yes to that statement?" he asked, not even trying to hide his amusement.

She just stared at him as she imagined what it would be like to beat him with his own cane. "I need the Vatican's phone number because Stacy must be some sort of saint to have put up with your shit for five years!"

"Not really," he said calmly, "I'm just fantastic in bed."

At this, Cuddy grabbed the other books and started hurtling them at him. House raised his arms to deflect them and waited for her to run out of ammunition. He hopped quickly over to her after she tossed the last book but before she could find something else to throw at him and pinned her arms at her side.

"Let go of me!" she demanded.

"Not until I'm sure that you're not going to try and cut off any of my extremities," he replied in a reasonable voice. "Besides, you're really in no condition to be throwing things around. Haven't your muscles been through enough today?" he asked.

She took a deep breath, knowing that he was right. "Are you done with the porn marathon now that you've succeeded in making me lose my temper?" she asked.

"That depends," he replied. "Are you done wallowing in guilt for the day?" She glared at him and he continued. "Cuddy, you're here. There's nothing that we can do to change that so let's just accept it and go on from there."

She looked away from him. "You're right," she told him quietly. Cuddy could feel her cheeks redden with embarrassment at how easily he had gotten her to lose her temper, but then he'd always been good at punching her buttons. She was just usually better at hiding it.

He watched her face turn pink and couldn't stop the little bubble of warmth that passed through him.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd last twenty minutes with the porn," he told her softly. "You're still very impressive for someone in your age group." She looked up at him in surprise and saw that his eyes were filled with what could only be described as affection. She stopped breathing for a moment.

House, at that same instant, realized he had finally broken his cardinal rule with her: don't refer to their previous friendship at all. He may have spent the past year bending the rule almost beyond recognition, but he had never actually broken it. He saw her confused expression and silently cursed himself for breaking it now at a time when he couldn't escape her presence to figure out what he wanted to do. He pulled away from her and got up.

"You might want to go take a shower," he said.

"What?" she asked, puzzled as to where this suggestion was coming from.

"Your muscles are stiff from the accident, and throwing the books during your little temper tantrum probably didn't help matters. A hot shower should help that." The truth was he needed to spend some time away from her as he collected his thoughts. A small part of him enjoyed the irony of Cuddy worrying that her presence was hindering his 'processing' time about Stacy, when, in reality, it was hindering his 'processing' time about her.

"You're probably right," she told him as she slowly stood up. She didn't completely understand what was going on, but he seemed to need to be alone and she would give that to him.

"There are towels in the cabinet above the toilet." She acknowledged him with a nod and made her way to the guest bathroom. House tensely followed her with his eyes and didn't relax again until she had shut the door behind her. He grabbed his cane and headed to the kitchen to find his yo-yo. He had some thinking to do.

A/N2: I set this story during a blizzard after Stacy leaves town. The week after 'Need to Know' airs, the east coast is blanketed in snow. Coincidence?

A/N3: Reviews are like Ritalin for me. They seem to spur me on to write faster.


	6. Chapter 6

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: I'm not crazy. I know I don't own House. If I did, I'd be having my wicked way with him right now instead of writing this disclaimer.

A/N1: Wow – ask and you shall receive. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. They really made my weekend and certainly spurred my desire to get this next chapter up for you. (Two days ahead of schedule!)

Chapter 6

House sat on his couch, deep in thought, as he played with his yo-yo. Why did all of this crap have to happen at once? He told Stacy to leave. It hurt, but, despite what Wilson thought, he knew that it had been the right decision for them both. He had been coming to terms with it and trying to move on. Then Cuddy arrives at his doorstep bringing an emotional storm of a completely different kind with her. The cynical part of him told him that he should have stuck to his guns and minimized all contact with her just like he had decided to do after he had woken up from his coma and discovered what she and Stacy had done to him.

* * *

_"Greg? Can you hear me?" he heard a voice floating above him, drawing him out of the darkness. It was a warm familiar voice. "Honey, please wake up," he heard her say. Stacy. It was Stacy's voice calling to him. He felt very heavy as he tried to go to where her voice was. He started noticing other things. His mouth was very dry. He could hear a heart monitor beeping in the background. His leg. His leg was hurting. He drew all of his focus together and managed to open his eyes briefly._

"_Greg?" he heard Stacy say hopefully. He swallowed to get the cottony feel out of his mouth._

"_Stacy…" he managed to whisper as he forced his eyes open again. He saw that she was holding his hand and he gave it a squeeze. "My leg?" he asked._

_She paused briefly before she answered. "Your leg's still there."_

_Despite his condition, he heard the pause and turned his gaze to his leg. It was still there, but something wasn't right. It didn't feel right. _

"_What happened?" he asked._

"_Greg, let me go find Lisa. She'll explain it to you better than I can." _

_He held onto her hand. "What happened?" he repeated. He saw a look of guilt flash across her face and he let go of her hand and started pulling on his blanket so that he could see his leg. He could hear the heart monitor beeping faster in the background. _

"_Greg, don't," Stacy said as she tried to stop him. He pushed her hand away again and finally worked the blanket back. _

_His heart lurched as he stared at his leg. He turned back to Stacy and grabbed her arm, "What did you do?" he yelled as loud as his dry throat would let him. _

"_Greg, you need to calm down," she told him._

"_What did you do?" he yelled again._

_It seemed as if the room burst with energy. Nurses came in as machines starting beeping. House saw them inject something into his IV bag and he managed to rip the line from his arm. He fought weakly as the nurses held onto his arms to stop him from hurting himself. He felt a prick on his hip, and his limbs soon become heavy again. He fought vainly against the sedative. _

"_What…" he whispered as he lost the battle._

_He didn't know how long he had been back in the darkness when he heard another voice calling to him to the surface. "House. Come on, it's time to wake-up," he heard this voice say. "I know you wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to sexually harass the nurses during your sponge bath." It was Cuddy. He tried to move his arms, but something was holding them down. He fought to open his eyes and stared at his hands. They were in restraints. He stared at them blankly for a moment before remembering what had happened the last time he was awake. He looked over at Cuddy. _

"_What happened with my leg?" he asked in a gravelly voice. Cuddy poured a glass of water from the pitcher next to the bed and offered him a sip to moisten his mouth. "What happened?" he asked again._

_Cuddy took a deep breath to brace herself for the coming storm. "We went in and removed the dead muscle tissue. Unfortunately, there was a great deal of it. You're going to need extensive physical therapy to learn to walk again. You're probably going to need to use a … a cane for the rest of your life," she said, her voice quivering. _

_House felt like he was falling into a gaping hole. "You knew this isn't what I wanted," he gasped. "You both knew that. How could you do this to me? If my condition worsened, why didn't you wake me up to see if this was what I wanted?"_

_Cuddy looked away but not before he could read the guilt in her expression. He suddenly understood. "But maybe that was the point. You knew that I'd never agree to this and so the both of you waited until I was out to butcher me," he hissed at her._

"_We saved your miserable life, you idiot," Cuddy hissed back at him as she fought back tears. _

"_Tell me, how long after I was out did she sign the papers?"_

"_House …"_

"_How long!" he saw Cuddy look down again and he had his answer. He shook his head and laughed bitterly. "You deserve an Oscar for your performance. I didn't have a clue as to what the two of you were planning when I went under. I'd applaud but I don't have the use of my hands at the moment." He began to get a bit hysterical. "You have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool old Greggie-Boy, but you two sure did it. God! She even apologized before I went under and I still didn't get it. How stupid am I?"_

"_Greg … this was not an easy decision …" Cuddy began but House interrupted her._

"_Talk is cheap, sweetheart," he said dismissively. "Where's your partner in crime?"_

"_She went down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat. I promised her I wouldn't leave you alone," she told him quietly. _

_His emotional outburst seemed to have drained him of his energy, but he fought against the exhaustion. "I don't want you here. I'm done with you," he whispered. "When Benedictess Arnold comes back, send her in." Cuddy nodded. "Get these damn restraints off. I'm not going to do anything stupid," he told her as he closed his eyes and sleep claimed him once more._

_He spent the next few days coming in and out of consciousness. Stacy was there most of the time whispering words of comfort, even as he spewed his bitterness out at her. She just kept on telling him that she loved him and that she couldn't just watch him die if she had the power to help him. He understood her point, but he didn't want to hear it. He couldn't hear it. House was in mourning for his previous life -- a life that had been murdered by his lover and one of his best friends. _

_He didn't see Cuddy at all during this time. Stacy told him that she was stopping by, but he was always asleep when she came. He wondered if that was by accident or design. Cuddy had never struck him as a coward and he couldn't deny that he had been sleeping a great deal, but then he had never thought her capable of plotting to cripple him either. _

_The delay in seeing her again was driving him crazy. He was not a patient man at the best of times, and this was most definitely not the best of times. He didn't know what was going to happen with Stacy, but he knew exactly what he planned on doing about his relationship with Dr. Lisa Cuddy M.D. _

_House was almost happy when he finally saw Cuddy enter his hospital room. Stacy looked up, saw her at the doorway and got up to leave, but House grabbed her arm._

"_There's no reason for you to leave. Is there, Dr. Cuddy?" he asked tonelessly._

"_Of course not," she said in a low voice as she walked to the foot of his bed to examine his chart. Their eyes locked and he could see her shudder slightly at what she saw in his expression. _

"_I've been talking to my other doctors, and they say that I may not be able to go back to work for several months. Will that be satisfactory, Dr. Cuddy?" he asked in a cold professional tone of voice._

"_Of course," she said._

"_Even when I do come back, I may not be able to do things like clinic duty right away. That won't put you out too much will it?" he asked, allowing a hint of nastiness to seep through._

"_You can start clinic up again whenever you feel able to," she told him as they stared steadily at one another. He wanted her to know that this was all that was left of their relationship. She was his boss, he was her employee, and that was it._

_She gave him a sad smile and nodded slightly. House realized that Cuddy knew exactly what he was doing and that she wasn't the least bit surprised by it._

"_Very good, Dr. House. We'll monitor your recovery closely and schedule a return to work date when you're ready," she said in a tone that matched his for professionalism as she put the chart down and walked out of the room. He watched her leave with a twinge of regret that she hadn't been more visibly upset, but then her defenses were nearly as good as his own._

_Stacy watched the exchange in silence, not fully understanding that she was witnessing the end of a friendship. _

* * *

That conversation proved to be the basis of his relationship with Cuddy for the next several years -- even long after his anger had cooled and he could understand her position more clearly. It was just easier to keep on treating her with icy disdain and to steer clear of her if he could help it.

During those years he had made a point to avoid arguing with her. If she came to him angry at something he had done, he would listen to her complain, make some witty remark and orchestrate a speedy exit. Arguing reminded him too much of their friendship. House had decided to ignore her as much as it was possible for someone to ignore his or her boss.

And his plan had worked until she pulled his authorization while he was entrenched in that worm case. House had lost his temper and went looking for her, spoiling for a good fight, but she'd been ready for him. He quickly pulled himself together, but not before noticing the gleam of enjoyment in her eyes at her victory about him returning to the clinic. House just couldn't let her win. He began to do everything in his power to drive her crazy. Before he knew it, they were fighting once again on a regular basis.

House justified it to himself by saying it was just about work. It was about him 'sticking it to the man' as represented by Cuddy. And if he enjoyed their arguments a little too much, then it was just an objective appreciation of Cuddy's verbal ability. And those times where she looked at him and seemed to know exactly what was going on in his head – well those times could be easily ignored. He even applauded himself for having the best of both worlds – allowing himself to enjoy their battles without the messiness of friendship. God, he was full of bullshit. It had taken Cuddy less than a day outside of the workplace for her to completely screw with his tried and true method of dealing with her.

His relationship with Cuddy was very different than his relationship with Stacy, but the decision before him was fundamentally the same. Did he want to risk changing the status quo enough for him to try and resurrect their friendship? Did he trust her enough not to hurt him like that again? The answer to both questions with Stacy had been 'no'. He loved Stacy, but when push came to shove he couldn't be anything but himself, and he didn't trust her not to leave again if he didn't change.

Cuddy, on the other hand, had stuck by him – even when he really didn't deserve it. She had fought and triumphed against Vogler to keep him at the hospital. She defended him to the board on a regular basis. And although House was sure that Cuddy would get up and dance a jig if he became less … abrasive with people, she had never seriously demanded that he alter his bedside manner. Hell, she'd put $50,000 aside every year for lawyers just because she knew who he was and didn't expect him to change.

He just wasn't sure if he could offer her anything. He was, admittedly, a very selfish man. He didn't know if he had it in himself to be anything more than a sparring buddy to her. Would she demand more of him than he was capable of giving? His life wasn't perfect, by any means, but it worked. He didn't want to break it anymore.

He thought back to their previous friendship and remembered how low maintenance it had actually been. They had a lot of fun together. They'd argued and bickered over everything under the sun. But there had also been a closeness that was hard to put into words. An understanding between two people who didn't often find real understanding from others. House and Cuddy hadn't often talked about serious things, but they each knew that the other would listen if something serious ever came up.

He didn't really think that he had any alternative at this point. Cuddy had gotten back inside, and the more he thought about it the more he realized that he didn't want to throw her back out. House stopped playing with the yo-yo and chuckled wryly to himself at this realization. He guessed that he had made his decision.

House heard the shower turn off in the guest bathroom. He rubbed his stubble as he contemplated the woman behind that door. Of course all of this soul searching was a complete waste of time if Cuddy decided that she didn't want to deal with anymore of his crap than she already did.

House thought about the type of olive branch that he needed to extend to Cuddy for this to have the best chance of succeeding. Although he could foresee a time where they would have to have a serious conversation about things, he didn't want to have that conversation quite yet. He wanted to start out by doing something fun. She didn't often allow herself to have fun, and that had been one thing that he had always been good at helping her with. Unfortunately, they were stuck in his home during a blizzard so that didn't leave him a lot of options.

He scanned his living room, waiting for inspiration to strike. House's gaze passed over his more 'acceptable' DVD collection and fell on a particular title. An expression of delighted anticipation crossed his face. "Voila!" he said to himself triumphantly. He grabbed his cane and headed for the kitchen once again. They were going to need some popcorn.

tbc

A/N2: You know the drill. Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: House is not mine. I get no money. Don't sue. I also don't own 007, but I really didn't mess with him at all.

A/N1: Thanks for all of the reviews. They really helped me get through this chapter. It was a difficult one to write because I wanted to show House and Cuddy enjoying the movie, but still make it accessible to people who haven't seen James Bond's Goldeneye. I think I did an okay job, but there are some things that I wanted to make sure that you knew so that you weren't confused when reading. 1. An EMP is a weapon that can fry anything that requires electricity. Computers, furnaces, traffic lights. Everything. They are very bad. 2. The beginning of every James Bond movie that I've seen has the silhouettes of naked women running, dancing, and stretching as the music plays in the background. I see House enjoying that.

Chapter 7

Cuddy felt her muscles relax under the hot spray of the shower. House may have had an ulterior motive for sending her in here, but she couldn't deny that it was helping to relieve her soreness.

She realized that House needed time to figure out their relationship. For so long she had just been his boss, but over the past year things had warmed up a bit between them. Today was the closest that they'd been to acting like their old selves in a long time. Apparently it was too fast for House. The expression on his face before he'd 'ordered' her to the shower would have made her laugh in any other situation. It had turned from affection, to confusion, to panic, to being perfectly devoid of emotion in the space of a few seconds. It didn't take a genius to figure out that House wasn't sure what he wanted to do about her.

Cuddy had to admit that his indecision hurt. It amazed her that his rejection still had that power – even after all of this time. The months following the surgery had been particularly painful as she watched him spiral out of control and push everyone who cared about him – especially Stacy -- away. She had tried to help him as much as she could from the sidelines, but it still hadn't been enough.

* * *

_"I can't do this anymore," Stacy said as she sat in Cuddy's office. A cup of tea sat forgotten in front of her. "He's … he's just so distant half of the time. He won't even look at me. And the other half of the time, he's the most malicious son of a bitch who ever lived. I try to be patient and understanding, but he's not getting any better. I think that he just wants me to go so that he can be miserable in peace." Stacy looked down at her hands folded in front of her._

"_Stacy, he doesn't want you out of his life," Cuddy told her._

"_He's acting like it."_

"_If he really wanted you gone from his life, he would have told you to go."_

"_Not if he wanted to make me miserable first."_

_Cuddy chuckled sadly. "Trust me Stacy. House is perfectly capable of kicking you out of his life and making you miserable at the same time. He's very special that way."_

_Stacy looked a little ashamed. "I'm sorry. I know that he's been freezing you out, but at least he's being civil with you. I either get yelled at or ignored. I know I shouldn't be putting all of this on you, but I don't know who else to go to about this."_

"_I don't mind," Cuddy reassured her. "You're my friend too. And helping you deal with all of this lets me help House in some small way. I appreciate that."_

_Stacy looked down, concentrating on her hands. "I just didn't think he would hold on to his anger for this long. I knew he'd be furious, and I knew that he'd try and push me out of his life. I just didn't think it would be this bad."_

"_It's House. He doesn't do anything the easy way. You know that."_

"_Yeah, I do. I just don't think I can do penance over this for the rest of my life. I'm not sorry I did it. I saved his life and all he does is focus on what he doesn't have anymore instead of what he still has," Stacy said as tears began to fall down her cheeks._

_Cuddy reached out to take her hand. "Stacy … yes we saved his life. I don't regret that decision either. But we took his control away from him and left him crippled. This is not going to be something that he gets over easily."_

_Stacy was unable to meet Cuddy's eyes. "All I know is that I can't … I won't spend the rest of my life feeling guilty over this."_

_Cuddy stared at Stacy for several seconds, realizing where this was going. "You're leaving him?"_

_Stacy just nodded._

"_You can't. He needs you, Stacy."_

"_Lisa, all I do is remind him of what happened. Maybe if I'm gone, then he can finally move on with his life." She looked away, defeated. "Besides, it's gotten to the point where I honestly don't think that he'll really care if I leave."_

_Cuddy felt the panic rise up in her. "Stacy, he loves you. He does."_

"_I don't think so," she whispered. "Not anymore. And even if he did, it's not enough." _

"_If you leave him now, then he may never get over this."_

"_Lisa, he may not ever get over this either way. I won't put my life on hold because Greg can't move on. I can't spend the rest of my life being with someone who's stuck in the worst moment of his life and can't let go and move forward."_

_Cuddy nodded her head sadly. "Stacy …" She paused for a moment before going on. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly._

"_Yeah," Stacy whispered with tears in her voice. "Lisa, if I don't leave now, I'm going to end up hating him. And I don't want that to happen." _

_Cuddy got up and gave Stacy a hug. "Have you talked to House yet?"_

"_No. I needed to talk to someone about it first and get my thoughts straightened out. I knew that you would try and talk me out of it, and I needed that to make sure I was making the right decision."_

_Cuddy nodded her acceptance. "You might want to give Wilson the heads up after you talk to House," she told Stacy._

"_Sure, but honestly I think that you're overestimating my place in Greg's life right now. He'll probably throw a kegger after I tell him," she said as she walked out of Cuddy's office._

_Cuddy watched her go. She thought that Stacy was wrong about House not caring if she left, but she could see that Stacy had made up her mind. If she didn't know that House would be devastated by her departure, then Cuddy wasn't going to try and convince her otherwise. He would hate it if Stacy stayed out of guilt._

* * *

Cuddy turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She didn't like to dwell on the days following Stacy's departure. House had gone on a bender and Wilson had ended up taking several days off to take care of him afterwards. She had tentatively approached House when he returned to work, but he had quickly rebuffed her, and she decided that if he wouldn't let her be the friend that she wanted to be, then she could at least be the boss that he needed.

Cuddy checked the clock next to the sink as she put some lotion on. She had given him about twenty-five minutes to think. Cuddy hoped that would be enough. She put her clothes back on and dried her hair with the towel as much as possible before putting it back in a ponytail.

She walked into the living room and noticed House sitting on the couch looking like the cat who swallowed the canary. He turned to face her and visibly sniffed the air.

"You made my bathroom smell all girly," he complained.

Cuddy shook her head. He was obviously in a better mood. Whatever that meant. "Well when I'm gone you can eat a couple of chili dogs, go in there and have at it, but until then you're just going to have to deal."

"Nazi," House said not quite under his breath. At that moment, the microwave beeped in the kitchen and he looked at her expectantly. "Would you mind getting that?" he asked.

"What are you making? We just had lunch," she said as she walked into the kitchen.

"I put in a movie and I felt like some popcorn."

She peeked her head out of the kitchen to glare at him. "House, I am not watching porn with you," she reminded him.

"You really have sex on the brain, don't you? You need to get out more," he said. "It's not porn. It's just a movie." Cuddy came out of the kitchen with the popcorn in the bowl that he had put next to the microwave and sat down next to him on the couch.

"What are you watching?" she asked in a quasi-threatening voice. She didn't trust his good mood.

He didn't say anything. He just pushed 'play' on the remote and sat back to watch her expression. Cuddy's gaze went back and forth from the television to House's face as she waited for the movie to start.

A man in a tuxedo standing in the sights of a gun barrel appeared on the screen. House pressed 'pause' and smirked at her.

Cuddy stared at the television in surprise and found herself unable to speak. He had put in a James Bond movie. She looked down for a moment to hide the tears that were threatening to come out. Watching and snarking on James Bond movies was something that they had done from the very early days of their friendship.

It had begun when House had called her up while he had been sick and begged her to bring over something good to eat that didn't come out of a box from the freezer. When she arrived, she found him camped out in front of the television watching a James Bond movie marathon. Cuddy had made fun of him, but he talked her into finishing the movie with him. The next thing she knew, the marathon was over with and she and House were discussing which Bond girl had the best name (Pussy Galore) and which nemesis had the silliest death (Mr. Big, swallowing a compressed air bullet and exploding all over his secret underground lair).

From that point on, up until he left Michigan, she and House would regularly watch Bond-flicks together. Cuddy would always put up a token protest, but she enjoyed watching and making fun of the movies as much as he did.

When they began working together again in New Jersey, they had joked about needing to see how Brosnan stacked up compared to his predecessors, but they had never found the time to get together before the infarction.

This was House's roundabout way of saying, 'Let's be friends again.' She chuckled to herself, even as she continued to fight the tears.

"Cuddy …" House said, beginning to get uncomfortable with her continued silence. She took a steadying breath and looked up to him with a genuine smile on her face.

"Which Bond movie is it?" she asked.

"Goldeneye," he replied.

"So we're finally going to check Brosnan out? Well, what are you waiting for House? We need to see how Bond saves the world from certain doom this time," she said as she gestured to the television. House pressed 'play' and the movie began again.

Cuddy sat on the couch, feeling more uncomfortable in House's presence than she had in quite a while. She was trying to concentrate on the movie, but her thoughts kept on returning to House. It was strange to have their relationship change so much so quickly without even talking about it, and she was having a difficult time sorting it out.

It wasn't until Bond was chasing an empty airplane on a motorcycle over a cliff that she concentrated on the movie and forgot about her situation with House.

"He's not!" she exclaimed.

"He is," House replied.

"Oh my God!" Cuddy said disbelievingly with a delighted giggle as she watched Bond drive the motorcycle over the cliff, skydive down to the airplane, maneuver into the cockpit and fly the plane to safety. She turned to House. "I'll say this for Brosnan, special effects make his Bond capable of doing some amazing things."

House just grinned as he turned back towards the television and waited for the credits to start. "Ahhh…" he said appreciatively. "The James Bond movies have the best credits ever. Hands down."

Cuddy groaned as she looked at the silhouettes of naked women gyrating all over the screen. House turned quickly and shushed her. She had forgotten his one rule for watching James Bond movies: No talking during The Naked Women credits unless it's about The Naked Women. Cuddy just shook her head and waited for them to be over with, but something soon caught her attention that she had to comment on.

"Are the Naked Women doing Tai Chi on a statue of Lenin?" she asked.

"It's symbolic of the fall of Soviet Russia," he explained as if talking to a three-year old. "Now shush."

They spent the next two hours making comments about everything from which characters they were most like ("Okay, I was going to say that you were the Russian chick who gets off on killing people during sex, but you are definitely The Evil Queen of Numbers,") to the type of Doomsday Weapon the movie had ("EMP's are worse than nukes because after a nuke you're just dead. EMP's go off and suddenly everybody's Amish. A fate worse than death in today's society,") to the fashion choices of the female lead ("Who brings a bikini on a covert jungle op?") to James Bond's amazing hairspray ("Look! He just drove a tank through a building and not a hair is out of place! I'm telling you, the British have super hair care technology, and they are not sharing!").

After the movie was over with and Bond had saved the world (again) and gotten the girl (of course), they turned to each other and smiled. It was Cuddy that finally broke the silence.

"I haven't seen a Bond movie in quite a while."

"Me neither," he admitted.

"But you've got the DVD," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but Bond is one of those things that's best when watched with someone else."

"Wilson doesn't like The Naked Women?" she asked sarcastically.

House looked away. "Wilson doesn't like to talk during movies," he explained. Cuddy didn't say anything and House lifted his gaze to hers. He was relieved to see that she understood perfectly.

tbc

A/N2: I was going to have House compare Cuddy to the Russian female villain, but as I was re-watching the movie I saw that one of the agents called the new 'M' (Bond's boss, played by the incomparable Judi Dench) The Evil Queen of Numbers and that was such a House thing to say about Cuddy that I had to work it in.

A/N3: You guys know the drill. Feed my addiction.


	8. Chapter 8

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews I've gotten. They make me very happy. I've worked for or been involved with several non-profits, and Outcomes Reports were the bane of all of their existence. Basically, you're trying to chart long-term effects of your programs using formulas. They suck.

Be warned. This chapter contains the beginnings of Huddiness. It's not overt, but it is there. So if you're strictly House/Cuddy friendship with absolutely no UST, then you may want to pretend that the story ended the last chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8

Cuddy sat on the couch staring at the television, but not really watching. After finishing Goldeneye, she and House had continued to watch television, but for the last half an hour her thoughts had been drifting to the hospital. She knew that no news was good news, but she still would have felt better if she were actually there supervising things. Not that she regretted spending the day with House and figuring things out between the two of them, but the hospital was, in a lot of ways, her life.

Cuddy noticed that she was tapping her fingers on her leg and forced herself to stop. That was another thing. She couldn't remember the last time she had basically spent the entire day doing nothing. She felt the excess energy coursing through her veins.

House watched Cuddy pretend to watch television. It didn't take a genius to figure out where her mind was. Someone else might have been insulted by Cuddy's desire to be elsewhere, but he found it kind of amusing. She was who she was. Her hospital was undergoing a 'crisis' without her presence, and it was driving her crazy. She started to absently tap her fingers on her leg again. She had been doing that on and off for at least the last half an hour and it was getting really old, really fast. It was getting to the point where House was about ready to suggest that she put them both out of their misery and call the hospital when a beeping sound came from Cuddy's purse.

She jumped up in surprise at the noise and then winced at how sore her muscles had become from sitting for so long. She went to her purse and pulled the pager out.

"It's the hospital," she said unnecessarily as she grabbed his phone and made her way to the kitchen. She was so busy focusing on contacting the hospital, that she didn't notice House lowering the volume on the television so that he could listen in.

"It's me," she told Wilson when he picked up the phone.

"Thank God," he said, the relief evident in his voice. "Mr. Mueller called, and he wants the Clinic's Outcomes Report from last year, and no one who made it into work today seems to know where to find it."

"And of course he doesn't care that we're in the middle of a weather crisis," she groused.

"No. He says he's checking our efficiency during an emergency, and I got the impression that if he doesn't get the information that his donation to the hospital will drastically decrease."

Cuddy sighed in frustration. Mueller was a wealthy donor who was becoming increasingly irksome. He had made it evident from their first meeting that he found her attractive, but she had managed to keep all of their dealings strictly professional. That was, until he had asked her out. She turned him down as politely as she could, but ever since then he would call during the most inconvenient times and demand information on the hospital, and if that information was not produced forthwith, he threatened to take his money elsewhere. A part of her wished she could tell him exactly what he could do with his money, but the Dean of Medicine in her knew that she needed it. She only hoped that he would get bored with tormenting her and move onto other diversions.

"He's such an annoying cretin," Cuddy complained into the phone, "Unfortunately he's a very wealthy annoying cretin who gives a lot of money to the hospital." Cuddy cracked her neck and began to tell Wilson how he could find the report in her computer.

"Great, I've found it." Wilson exclaimed. There was a slight pause. "I have no idea what any of this means," he admitted.

"Is he wanting to discuss the report with you?" Cuddy asked.

"Yes. I was the person who he ended up talking to and he's going to call back after I've emailed it to him."

"Collins could coach you. Is he there?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Chen?"

"No."

"Yamagato?"

"Nada," Wilson replied, his frustration level obviously rising. "I'm assuming the people who would be able to talk about it would probably have known where the stupid report was in the first place."

"Okay, don't panic. I've got some notes on the report in my BlackBerry. Let me grab it and I'll give you a quick tutorial. Or," she began, still thinking, "We could do a three-way phone call and I could do most of the talking."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Wilson admitted.

"Why not?"

"Well I kind of suggested that in the first place, and he started going on and on about how his suspicions were right all along and that you were a micromanager who never let anyone else do anything."

Cuddy tightened her grip on the phone in anger. "There are other people who can explain this report! It's just that there's a foot of snow on the ground and they can't get to work! And now this little troll is wasting time and manpower so that he can stick it to me because I wouldn't have dinner with him!"

House raised an eyebrow at this statement.

"You done ranting?" Wilson asked.

Cuddy closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. "Yes. Sorry. Hold on, I'll grab my notes and walk you through it. You're going to know that report backwards and forwards when I'm done with you," she said in a very determined voice. She walked back into the living room and grabbed her purse to look for the BlackBerry. Not finding it there, she opened her overnight bag and breathed a sigh of relief as she eventually pulled it out of a side pocket. She took it and went back to the kitchen to finish talking to Wilson, forgetting to close and put the bag away.

House's nose twitched a little as he stared at the open overnight bag. He knew that she must be really focused on work for her to have left it open with him in the room. He peeked at her in the kitchen and could hear her explain the finer points of Outcome Models to Wilson. Just thinking about it put him into a coma. Cuddy's bag was far more interesting.

He grabbed the bag and opened it all of the way. He first pulled out the work clothes that she had packed to wear at the hospital. _"Hmmm… non-wrinkle fabric. Very smart Dr. Cuddy. Although I'm sure that you have an iron somewhere in your office,"_ he thought to himself. House carefully laid the clothes next to him on the couch and went back to the bag.

Next, he discovered her toiletry bag and opened it with glee. He found her lotion bottle, twisted off the cap, inhaled deeply and smiled. It was a spicy sweet smell that reminded him of a lush garden at night. House jerked the bottle away from his nose and closed it, shaking his head at the turn his thoughts had taken. She smelled nice, and that was as far as he as going to take it. He looked through her makeup and found her lipstick. He opened up the tube and rubbed it on his hand to examine the color for a moment. When he was done, he put the lotion and makeup back in the small bag and placed it next to him.

He reached his hand into the bag and this time pulled out a couple of bras. As bras went, they were pretty normal. They were made with a black silky material with a bit of lace edging the cups. He examined them for a moment and couldn't help but notice that they still smelled faintly of her, even after being washed. He tossed the bras down next to him and stared off into space for a moment before forcing his thoughts back to the bag and its contents.

He rummaged around in the bag and half-groaned/half-chuckled when he found her underwear. "I knew it," he whispered triumphantly to himself as he pulled out a red thong. He stroked the soft material for a moment before twirling it around his finger. He sighed to himself. Being friends with Cuddy definitely had the makings of being way more … complicated than he had originally thought.

He squashed the unwanted thoughts as he checked on Cuddy in the kitchen. She was still droning on about outcomes and long-term patient wellness. He shuddered. This donor must be really big if Wilson was willing to go through the tutorial from hell. _"In fact,"_ he thought as an evil grin formed on his face, _"Wilson might need a little jolt to get his brain functioning again after absorbing all of this 'interesting' information."_

He cleared his throat dramatically as he carefully positioned himself on the couch.

"Cuddy!" he whined as loudly as he could. "Will you please untie me? I promise I'll be good from now on!" House just sat back and waited for the fireworks to begin.

In the kitchen, Cuddy dropped the phone at House's words. She quickly picked it up and pressed it to her ear as she entered the living room to glare at House. She found him sitting on the couch with a huge grin on his face. All of her clothes were spread around him as he played with her red thong. Her eyes narrowed. She was going to kill him.

"Ah … Cuddy?" she heard Wilson say on the phone. She closed her eyes as she tried to control her anger.

"Yes," she replied.

"Umm… that sounded an awful lot like House, and I just noticed that the Caller ID box lists this call as coming from Gregory House. So … um … is there anything you would like to tell me?"

"I was in a car accident this morning –"

"Are you okay?" he interrupted.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "It happened close to House's place. I walked here afterwards and now I'm stranded here with him. Obviously, I left him alone for too long because he got bored and acted out in order to get attention like a five year old."

House merely raised an eyebrow at her comment.

Cuddy decided that beating House with his own cane wasn't nearly painful enough. She wanted to wrap her hands around his neck and strangle that smug expression off of his face. "You might want to start working on House's eulogy, Wilson, because I doubt he's going to survive this blizzard."

House grinned.

"Now Cuddy," Wilson said in a reasonable tone of voice. "I know that murder seems like a viable option now, but think about it. You'd have to hide the body or make it seem like an accident. That kind of thing takes planning."

"Oh, I've been plotting how to kill House and get away with it for years. I'm covered," she assured Wilson.

House made a hurt expression. "You heard that Wilson!" he yelled. "I fully expect you to testify against her at the trial."

"Do you understand the Outcomes Report?" she asked Wilson.

"Yes."

"Good. I'll let you go. Mueller should be calling soon. And Wilson -"

"Yes?" replied.

"If I get back to work and hear any rumors about me shacking up with House during the blizzard, then I will make it look like a lovers' murder-suicide pact."

House looked slightly horrified at that comment.

Cuddy hung up the phone and began to walk slowly to the couch as House eyed her carefully.

Cuddy glanced at her clothing scattered around him. He was still playing with her thong and she had to resist the urge to take it and start beating him with it.

"You're right," he said.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"I probably would enjoy you hitting me with your underwear a little too much for it to be an effective punishment," he said matter-of-factly. "But if it will make you feel better, then by all means go ahead," he said and tossed the thong to her.

Cuddy caught it and just stared at him, shocked - and yet not shocked - that he had read her mind. He raised his hands as if to say, "I'm waiting," and gave her an impish grin. She strove to hold onto her anger, but it was useless.

She threw the underwear back at him. "How do you do this to me?" she asked, completely frustrated.

"Do what?"

"One moment, I'm so mad at you that I can actually feel myself squeezing the life out of your worthless carcass-"

"Hey!" he said, offended.

"And the very next moment it's … all gone," she finished as she moved a pile of clothing and sat down next to him.

House grinned at her disgruntled expression, but after a moment became serious. "It's a good thing that you don't hold onto anger," he told her quietly. She looked at him and smiled. She was going to say something in reply, but something on his hand caught her attention.

"Is that my lipstick?" she asked as she pointed to his hand.

House stared at the telltale red mark, and his normally agile mind could come up with nothing to say. "Yes," he admitted after a moment.

She rolled her eyes. "That's just wrong," she told him as she began to gather her belongings and return them to her bag. She picked up her bras and looked at him suspiciously. "You didn't put these on your head or anything?" she asked.

"What am I, sixteen?"

"More like twelve. Answer the question," she demanded.

"No, I did not put your tit-slings on my head," he said sarcastically.

"Good," Cuddy replied as she put them back in her bag. She reached to take her thong from him, but he pulled his hand out of reach.

"You gave this back to me," he said. "It's mine."

"You are not keeping my underwear," she said as she made another grab for it. He again evaded her attempt.

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law. I gave the thong back to you, and then you, of your own free will, gave it back to me. Ergo, the thong now belongs to me." Cuddy just stared at him for a moment and before deciding that she could steal it back later and zipped up her bag. She stood up, grabbing both the bag and her purse. "Fine. Whatever. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to use your restroom and then I want to call Wilson and find out how the call with Mueller went."

"You need both your bag and your purse to use the restroom?" he asked.

"I'm removing them out of temptation's way," she said as she went into the restroom.

He chuckled as she closed the door. She knew him too well.

TBC

A/N 2: I know it seems like Cuddy is spending a lot of time in the restroom, but it's really been several hours since she was last there in the story.

I was re-reading Enlee's 'Stay or Leave' and noticed that she had Cuddy and House watching a Bond movie when they initially took their relationship to the next level. I did not remember that at all, so I guess you could say it was an unintentional homage.

Please feed my addiction! Read and review.


	9. Chapter 9

Rediscovery

By Ellie

A/N1: Sorry it's been so long. First my muse wouldn't cooperate, and then Real Life got hectic and I didn't have any time to write. It's also approaching the end of the quarter and so I'll be busy with paperwork over the next few weeks. So the updates may be a bit further apart.

Chapter 9

Cuddy came outof the bathroom carrying her bags and glanced over at House who was still sitting on the couch. His thoughts were obviously someplace else as he fingered her thong. He looked over and saw her gaze fixed on the underwear in his hand. He grasped it tighter.

"Mine," he reminded her.

She just glared at him as she placed her bags down next to her and picked up the phone to call the hospital.

"Wilson, it's me," she said when he picked up the phone. "How did things go with Mueller?"

"Fine – for now," he said. "I think he's still looking for something to complain about, though."

"Little toad," Cuddy said under her breath.

"Is House still among the living?" he asked with humor in his voice.

She looked over to House who was watching her intently. He sensed that the conversation had turned to him and he raised his eyebrow at her.

"For now," she told Wilson.

"Can I talk to him?"

"You don't believe me?" Cuddy asked, amused, as she began to walk towards House to give him the phone.

"Well he did say that you had him tied up earlier," Wilson replied.

Cuddy laughed. "Here he is," she said and handed the phone to House's already outstretched hand.

"Wilson, man, you've gotta do something. You think she's a controlling bitch at the hospital? You haven't seen anything until she's invaded your home. She actually carries whips and chains around with her, and she's not afraid to use them." He looked over to Cuddy who was smiling evilly at him.

"Sounds like your Wet Dreams Diary. Stop complaining," Wilson told him. "Just remember that she does sign your paychecks, and she can make your life extremely difficult if she chooses. Also, I think that she really could kill you and get away with it."

"No doubt there," House said with a chuckle.

"How're things going … otherwise," Wilson asked hesitantly. House sighed in exasperation as he turned away from Cuddy.

"I'm fine."

"I know you were needing some alone time to deal with your decision about Stacy."

"I've dealt. I'm good," House said shortly.

"House …"

"Wilson, I'm fine," House firmly said again. Wilson was silent for a moment, obviously not believing him, but choosing not to fight him on it.

"All right," Wilson said finally. "Just … be careful."

"Good-bye, Mom," House snarked into the phone and hung up. He stared at it, wishing that he could somehow give Wilson a good thump on the head through the device.

"He's just worried about you," Cuddy said from behind him. He turned around to look at her.

"Yeah, well I'm a big boy, and he needs to get a life."

"He's just remembering what you were like the last time Stacy left. I have to admit I halfway expected you to be passed out from alcohol poisoning when I got here this morning."

"I'm so sorry to have disappointed you."

"Shut up. Obviously, I'm ecstatic that you didn't feel the need to destroy your liver even more than you're already doing, but you can't blame Wilson for worrying about you. You were a wreck after Stacy left, and he doesn't want to see you go through that again."

"God, you're just as bad as he is. I have a mother already, thank you very much. I don't need two more."

"If you acted older than twelve sometimes, then we might believe you."

House glared at her. "I will admit to going through a bit of a rough patch when Stacy left all those years ago." Cuddy snorted at this understatement. "But this time it's different," he insisted.

"Really?" Cuddy asked, not believing him.

"Yes, really. First of all, I told Stacy to leave this time. And I didn't do it out of anger. And, despite what Wilson thinks, I didn't do it out of fear of being vulnerable and hurt again. I did it because I honestly believe that we would never be happy together."

Cuddy stared at him in surprise. Wilson hadn't told her the details about the break-up, but she had assumed that Stacy had decided to try and make her marriage work. The thought that House had sent her away after spending the past five years pining for her had never crossed Cuddy's mind.

Cuddy looked away from him and nodded. House exhaled loudly and tossed the phone at her.

"I've got to take a leak," he told her as he headed toward the bathroom.

Cuddy's gaze followed him. She was inexplicably happy that House was the one to end the relationship with Stacy, but she quickly turned her thoughts away from those feelings. They weren't appropriate.

She suddenly realized that she didn't remember seeing him holding her underwear as he left the room. She headed towards the couch to see if he had accidentally left the thong there, but didn't see it. She searched under the cushions and was about to get down on the floor to see if it was under the couch when an amused voice interrupted her.

"Looking for this?" he asked. She looked up and saw him twirl the underwear around his finger. Her eyes narrowed.

"House, I'm not going to let you keep my underwear," she told him.

"If you want it, then come and get it," he said as he stuffed the thong down the front of his pants.

She just stared at him for a moment as House smirked at her. "I don't know why I'm surprised that you did that," she finally said. "Fine. Keep the damn underwear, but I _will_ make you pay," she promised.

His smile got even bigger. "I'm looking forward to it."

She put the cushions back on the couch and sat down. House walked towards her until he was next to her. He prodded her with his cane. She looked up at him, her annoyance evident.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm hungry," he said a bit petulantly.

She looked at him in surprise. "Well then eat something."

"But I don't want to cook," he said hopefully. Cuddy looked at him in astonishment.

"You want me to make you supper after you've stolen my property?" she asked.

"First of all, you gave the thong to me. Secondly, thank you very much for offering to cook supper," he said appreciatively.

She sputtered a bit. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Come on, Cuddy. I fed you lunch. I tended your wounds. I'm sheltering you from a horrible blizzard during what should be my vacation. I think that the least you could do is make me supper."

She rolled her eyes in frustration. "Let me get this straight. You don't want me feeling guilty unless it suits your nefarious purposes," she told him.

"Duh." He could see that she was wavering. "You told me, many moons ago, that you were a good cook, but I have never seen any proof of that statement. You could use this as an opportunity to finally prove it. That is, unless you were lying to me …" he let the sentence hang.

"Do you even have any real food in your kitchen?" she asked.

"I'm sure that there's enough in there for you to be able to scrounge something up."

Cuddy sighed and stood up. She had to admit that she was getting hungry herself, and she wasn't in the mood for more Chinese food. She also enjoyed cooking, but didn't often get a chance to do it. She worked long hours, and when she didn't it was difficult to work up enthusiasm to make something just for herself. She walked into House's kitchen and inspected his supplies. It was better stocked then she had thought it would be. He even had a bag of salad in the refrigerator.

House had followed her into the kitchen, and he smiled as he watched her inspect his cabinets. She turned to look at him when she had done a quick inventory.

"How do you feel about some pasta and a salad?" she asked.

"Of course you would try and give me the one healthy thing I've got in my kitchen," he complained. Cuddy smiled, knowing that he wasn't really serious.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said as she pulled a pot out and began to fill it with water. She put it on the stove and added salt to the water.

"You know that it will take longer to boil that way," he commented.

"Yes, but the spaghetti will taste better, and it's not like we're running late for something. I thought you wanted me to cook. Stop criticizing," she told him.

"I'm just making sure you know what you're doing. What are you going to use for a sauce? I don't think I have any jars of Ragu hidden anywhere."

"I'm making 'spaghetti aglio e olio'. There is no sauce."

"Garlic and oil spaghetti," he translated. "Well that takes having wild sex off of tonight's activities list. I refuse to do the wild thing with someone who has monster garlic breath."

"Damn," she said mockingly.

He watched her get the other ingredients ready. "Where did you learn to make it?" he asked. "It's not a recipe that the average American is familiar with."

"My grandmother was born in Naples. She taught me to cook when I was a kid."

He wrinkled his forehead as he thought about what little he knew about her family. "Cuddy," he said, breaking the silence, "normally I would break into your home to find out this kind of information, but since we're stuck at my place and I don't think you have any personal papers here for me to rifle through, I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and ask you. How does a nice Jewish girl get the last name 'Cuddy' and an Italian grandmother?"

She laughed. "It's not really that complicated. My grandfather, who was Irish, met my grandmother in Italy after the war. They got married and had my father. My father was not raised in any particular religion so when he married my mother he agreed to raise whatever kids they had Jewish."

"Well I can't wait to see what secrets 'Nonna' Cuddy taught you in the kitchen."

"Don't be too impressed," she told him. "This is quite possibly the easiest spaghetti recipe ever conceived. But it's quick and isn't messy."

House silently watched as she seasoned the olive oil. Cuddy could feel his gaze and it made her nervous. She went to a cabinet and pulled out a couple of plates and handed them to him.

"Make yourself useful and set the table," she ordered. House sighed heavily, but didn't say anything as he complied. He paused at the cabinet where he kept his glasses and looked over at Cuddy.

"You have a choice," he told her. "You can skip the painkillers in favor of some wine with your dinner or you can take the pills and have water." He paused for a moment as if considering something. "I guess you could do something completely out of character and take the pills and the wine, but I won't hold my breath."

"No, I like to actually follow directions when taking pain medications," she reminded him. She paused to contemplate her choices. "What kind of wine do you have?" she asked.

"A little bit of everything," he replied.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on her muscles. She was still sore, but it wasn't too bad, and a glass of wine sounded really good right now.

"I'll take some wine," she finally decided. House pulled out two wine glasses and sat them on the table. Cuddy finished up the pasta and put it on the table next to the salad. She sat down and watched as House took a bite of the pasta. He smiled appreciatively.

"Nonna Cuddy taught you well," he told her.

"Thank you," she said. A comfortable silence sprang up between them. House watched her eat out of the corner of his eye as he savored the food.

"Tell me," he asked after a while, "do you mention your cooking skills on your DesperateForADatedotcom website?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "It mentions in my profile that I enjoy cooking," she told him.

"Good thinking," he told her. "Men dig chicks who can cook. Especially when they cook wearing nothing but naughty nighties. Trust me. Add that to your profile and the men will be coming out of the woodwork to date you."

"What makes you think that they aren't already?" she asked.

"Well you're still working sixty-plus hours a week," he told her. He paused to think for a moment. "I suppose you could be forgoing sleep in favor of hot sex. Lack of sleep might explain why you've been so cranky lately."

"Cranky?"

"Yes cranky." He stopped for a moment to pretend to consider it some more. "Somehow I don't think so, though. You don't have that post-coital glow about you."

"Post-coital glow? And you would know what that looks like?" she asked.

He gasped with wounded pride. "Hey, I know what a post-coital glow looks like. I leave the ladies glowing so much that …" he trailed off.

"So much that?" she prompted after a few seconds of silence.

"I don't know," he admitted. "The only metaphor that's coming to mind has to do with glowing so much that they don't need to turn on the headlights when they drive home afterwards, but it lacks poetry."

She giggled and he smiled at her amusement. After a moment, though, his expression became serious.

"So no one special?" he asked.

Cuddy fought the urge to look away as she answered. "No one special," she told him.

He nodded and finished eating his pasta.

Tbc

A/N2: Over 100 reviews! Thanks a lot. You guys rock. And thanks for the reviews for my little 'Sex Kills' missing scene ficlet. Please feed my addiction and review some more.


	10. Chapter 10

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine. If they were, we'd be seeing more than one new episode a month.

A/N: This chapter is for sizzleleg. I hope you didn't explode waiting for it. I'm at home sick, which gave me time to work on the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 10 

Cuddy turned the page of the book she was attempting to read when she heard a heavy sigh come from House's direction. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. House had spent the past half an hour repeating the same pattern of behavior. He sighed, turned on the television, channel surfed for about three minutes, turned off the television, picked up a book, put it down and then begin the whole cycle over again with a heavy sigh. It didn't take a diagnostic genius to figure out that he was bored.

After cleaning up dinner, Cuddy had looked through his library and found a book that looked interesting and sat down with a glass of wine to read it. House poured himself a scotch and picked up the remote to try and find something interesting on television. He was unsuccessful. Thus starting the cycle that was slowly driving Cuddy crazy.

"Cuddy," House said, breaking the silence. She raised her eyes and met House's gaze. "I'm bored."

"Find something to read," she told him.

"Cuddy," he almost whined, "it's unnatural for us to be in the same room for this long and be silent."

"What are you suggesting?" she asked carefully.

"Let's play a game."

"I'm not playing strip poker with you," she said firmly.

"Damn," he said in a disappointed voice. He paused for a moment, considering the possibilities. A smile broke out on his face. "How about 'Truth or Dare'?" he suggested mischievously.

"You really are a teenager, aren't you?"

"Come on, Cuddy. We're trapped indoors during a blizzard. Isn't it a law somewhere that you're supposed to play silly games in situations like this?"

"Not in the state of New Jersey."

He studied her for a moment before deciding to pull out the big guns. "If you play with me now, I'll play whatever you want on the piano for thirty minutes tomorrow."

Cuddy looked at him in surprise. House was an excellent piano player, but he rarely played for an audience and he never took requests.

"How can I guarantee that you'll live up to your end of the bargain?" she asked.

"You'll just have to trust me," he told her.

"Or I could schedule you for two hours of extra clinic duty a week if you back out," she told him. Cuddy paused to consider his proposition. Perhaps the wine was affecting her judgment, but the idea of playing 'Truth or Dare' with House had a certain attraction.

"There would have to be some ground rules," she told him.

"Like what?" he asked.

"First of all, none of the dares will involve any inappropriate touching."

"But Cuddy, that's the best part of 'Truth or Dare'," he complained, although in all honesty he had expected that stipulation.

"Secondly, there will be no dares that could damage my or the hospital's reputation."

"You're just determined to destroy all of my fun, aren't you?" he asked.

"And finally, what truths we learn here tonight are never mentioned again. Those are the rules. Take it or leave it," she told him.

"Fine, but I get to go first." She nodded her head in agreement. "Truth or dare?" he asked.

She looked into his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out what would be the lesser of the two evils. "Truth," she finally said. House scrunched up his face as he considered the many questions that he had for her.

"Ok. Last year, did you and Wilson conspire together to get me to start seeing patients again?" Cuddy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Why would you think that?" she asked.

"Nuh uh, Cuddy. That's now how this game works. You have to answer my question truthfully, not ask one of your own. Did you and Wilson get together to trick me into seeing patients again?"

Cuddy paused for a moment before looking him straight in the eye and answering. "Yes."

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "Looking back, it was so obvious that I'm ashamed it didn't even cross my mind until weeks afterwards. Wilson finding a sick fake cousin to interest me, and then you pulling my authorization once I was engrossed in the case. It was Machiavellian." His eyes narrowed with thoughts of revenge. "Wilson is going to rue the day he plotted to make me start working in the clinic again."

"House, you hadn't seen a patient for over a month. The board was seriously considering closing down the Diagnostics Department and transferring you to Nephrology. We had to do something to get you seeing patients again."

"And you couldn't just explain this to me?" he asked.

"If you were a normal human being, then yes, we could have had a rational discussion. But if I had come to you and said that you needed to see patients in order to keep your department open, you would have done something stupid and irritating."

House didn't respond. He knew that she was right.

"Besides, rule number three prohibits you from acting on this information," Cuddy said. "My turn. Truth or dare?" she asked.

"Dare," House said defiantly.

Cuddy thought about it for a moment, and then she smiled. "I dare you to call Wilson up at the hospital and tell him that he's a good friend and that you appreciate everything that he's done for you. And you can't mention that it's part of a game."

House stared at her in horror. "Do I look like I have a vagina?" he asked. "Men don't say those sort of things to each other!"

"Well it wouldn't be much of a dare if it were something that you'd do willingly," she retorted. House glared at her as he grabbed his cane and went to find his phone. He dialed Wilson's office.

"Hello," Wilson said when he answered the phone.

"Wilson," House began a little uneasily. Cuddy didn't even try to hide her smile.

"House? What's up?" Wilson asked, confused.

House took a deep breath and chided himself. He was making this more difficult than it had to be. "I … I just wanted to say that I appreciate all you've done for me, and you're a good friend, and thank you," he said as quickly as he could. Wilson was silent. "Are you there?" House asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'm just trying to figure out why … You didn't kill Cuddy and are currently making plans to leave the country, are you?"

"No," House replied a little indignantly. Wilson was silent for another moment.

"Cuddy isn't about ready to kill you and decided to allow you one final phone call?"

"She's not that nice," he told him. "Look it's not important why I'm doing it. I'm just doing it. So goodnight," he said as he hung up the phone. Cuddy let loose the laughter that she'd been holding in so Wilson wouldn't hear her. House glared at her, but she just laughed harder.

"Truth or dare?" he asked evilly.

Cuddy studied his demeanor as she tried to catch her breath. "Truth."

"What is your favorite sexual position?" he asked.

Cuddy could feel her cheeks turn red as she fought to keep her gaze level. He was trying to make her uncomfortable, and she'd be damned if he succeeded.

"Of course it depends on the skill of the person I'm with," she began.

"Of course," House agreed cheerfully.

"But in general, I prefer to be on top," she told him without breaking eye contact.

"I knew it," House said triumphantly. "That's what I've been telling the nursing staff when I describe the amazing sex we have in your office when you're supposed to be chewing me out."

"It's nice to know that you strive for as much accuracy as possible in your lies," she said sarcastically. "Truth or dare?" she asked.

"Truth."

She paused to think for a moment, wanting to direct the topic of conversation away from sex. Cuddy smiled when she thought of a nice easy question that she'd always been curious about. "What's your middle name?"

House's eyes widened for a moment, as his mouth opened and nothing came out. Cuddy laughed in surprise.

"It's not a difficult question."

"Out of all of the questions in the world you could ask me, you ask me that?"

"I've known you for almost twenty years and I don't even know your middle initial. I'm your boss. You fill out paperwork for me. I just think it's odd."

House sighed and looked down. "It was my grandfather's name," he started.

Cuddy's smile got bigger. "Oh, it must be awful. You're stalling."

"I'm not stalling," he disagreed. "I just wanted to explain where the name came from."

"Come on, it's probably not worth all of this build up. Just tell me."

"Aloysius," he told her as he looked away.

Cuddy burst into laughter. "Gregory Aloysius House," she said aloud. "I can just hear your mother yelling that down the street when you were in trouble."

"Don't remind me," House shuddered dramatically.

Cuddy giggled at his embarrassment, but soon got herself under control. She then wrinkled her forehead as if realizing something and burst into laughter once again.

"What?" House asked, annoyed.

"Your initials spell 'gah'," she said.

"That's not a word," he pointed out.

"No, but it's a noise one makes in frustration. It suits you," she said as she once again forced herself to stop laughing. "Okay, I'm done," she told him.

"May I remind you of rule number three? What we learn here stays here."

"I know, I know," she sighed.

"Truth or dare?" he asked.

"Dare," she said before she could think about it too much.

House looked her over and smirked. "Give me the bra you're wearing right now," he said.

Cuddy gasped in surprise. "What?"

"You heard me. I dare you to give me your bra."

Cuddy's eyes narrowed at House. "I said no inappropriate –"

"You said no inappropriate touching," he interrupted. "I'm not asking to remove the bra for you. I'm asking you to give me your bra. Of course if you're too chicken …"

Cuddy closed her eyes in frustration. She couldn't blame him. She had known what to expect when playing a game like this with him. Cuddy pulled her arms into her top and began to free herself from the bra. House began to hum stripper music. When she was finished, she put her arms back through her sleeves and threw it at House. He smiled happily.

"I'm going to have this and your thong framed and put in my bedroom," he informed her as he played with the silky material.

"Framed?" she asked.

"There are places that will frame baby clothes for doting parents. I'm sure that, for a price, they'd frame your underwear."

"Oh God," she said under her breath. "If you frame my underwear and put it in a place where anyone could ever possibly see it, I'll add Aloysius to your name on your office door," she warned.

He smiled. "Ok, no framing. But I promise to keep them in a very special place."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I think the less I know about that, the happier I'll be." He just continued smiling as he played with her bra. Her desire to throw something at him warred with her amusement over how happy he seemed. She shook her head and continued with the game. "Truth or dare?" she asked him.

"Truth."

She paused to consider it. There was something personal that she was curious about. The wine leant her courage as she asked her question. "What happened on your date with Cameron last year?"

House looked surprised. "You don't know?"

"No one knows, House. They just know that you went out with her."

House raised his head to inspect the ceiling as he answered. "Nothing much happened really. She wore a pretty dress. I bought her some flowers. We made small talk. It was over."

"Why don't I believe that was all?" Cuddy asked.

House sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "She tried to analyze me. She told me I treated her badly because I wasn't ready to acknowledge my feelings for her."

Cuddy gave a quick burst of laughter and covered her mouth. House looked over at her. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "but you treat everyone like crap."

House smiled. "I know. I asked her what would she think if I started being nice to her, and she said that would mean that I was finally acknowledging my feelings for her."

Cuddy shook her head as she fought a smile. "Poor Cameron. She doesn't know you at all, does she?"

"Not really," he said. "She's nice enough. And she's great looking. But she doesn't really see me, just my brokenness. Someone who needs to be fixed, and she wanted to do the fixing."

"But who wants to be in a relationship with someone who's trying to change you?" Cuddy asked. House nodded, pleased that she understood.

"Besides she flusters way too easily," he said as he smiled at Cuddy. "Truth or dare?" he asked.

"Truth."

"Why," he paused for a moment to consider his words. "Why were you so mad at Stacy before she left?"

Cuddy crooked her head. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"That little speech in your office where you impersonated Stacy. You were angry."

"I was angry with you," she told him.

"Yes, I know that. But you were also angry with Stacy. You wouldn't have done that little impersonation of her if you had only been angry with me. The southern accent was a nice touch, by the way. She's spent most of her professional life trying to get rid of it, but it's still there if you listen carefully." House waited while Cuddy considered her answer.

"Wilson talked to both of you after you returned from Baltimore," Cuddy began. House nodded his head. "After he talked to Stacy, he came and talked to me about what was going on."

"The two of you conspiring together yet again?" he asked.

"Wilson needed to talk to someone who knows you, and he didn't have a lot of options," she told him. "Anyways, he was upset with Stacy because she didn't understand what her leaving was like for you, and after talking with him, I became a little upset with her as well."

House looked down and began to study the material of his shirt very intently.

"Then she came to ask me what you were like after she left." House looked up at her in surprise.

"What did you tell her?"

Cuddy smiled. "That you were an egomaniacal, narcissistic, pain in the ass. Just like before she left."

House couldn't help but smile at her wit, but his face quickly became serious again. "But you didn't mention the drinking binges? Or the fact that Wilson had to move in to watch over me?"

Cuddy shook her head and looked away. "I wasn't going to tell her if she didn't already know. She should have known without me having to tell her." She paused for a moment, lost in thought. "You know, she came to talk to me before she absolutely decided to leave you after the infarction. She told me then that she didn't think that you would miss her. A part of me was hoping that she was just saying that to make herself feel better about leaving, but now I know that she really believed it. And it made me angry that she could live with you for five years and not know what her leaving did to you." Cuddy forced herself to look at House. He was staring at her with an expression of profound sadness.

"Your turn," House reminded her gently.

"Greg, if you want to stop …"

"No," he told her. "Ask me."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Cuddy looked away, unsure of what to ask. "Ask what happened between Stacy and me," he told her.

Cuddy met his gaze. "Only if you really want to tell me," she told him quietly. He nodded. "What happened between you and Stacy?" she asked.

House was quiet for several moments as he stared at the wall in front of him. She knew that he hated talking about personal matters, and that this was really difficult for him. Cuddy was tempted to tell him to forget about it. That it was getting late and they should be going to sleep, but something told her this was something that he needed to talk about, so she just waited.

"We kissed in Baltimore," he told her, breaking the silence. "But you knew that. I went to go see Wilson after he talked to Stacy – and apparently you. Wilson told me that he thought Stacy was waiting for me to show her that I was serious about being with her again. So I went to go see her in her office as she was packing and I told her that I didn't want her to leave. I told her that I still loved her." House looked at Cuddy. "What happened wasn't a spur of the moment decision. We left her office together, and we walked to our vehicles together. We drove separately to my place where we … where we had sex. She made the decision to be with me. Or so I thought."

Cuddy raised her eyebrows in confusion, but didn't interrupt him. He closed his eyes and wetted his lips before continuing.

"I got called back to the hospital that night. We met up again the next day on the roof, and I asked her about telling Mark. She hemmed and hawed for a bit before stating that she didn't have to hurt Mark if she never told him about being with me." He opened his eyes and looked at Cuddy. "I realized that we weren't on the same page. I thought all of those decisions had been made the night before when she had decided to come home with me. I told her that she couldn't have both Mark and me. That she had to make a choice. I was disappointed that she thought that I could handle being kept on the side while she stayed Mrs. Mark Warner. Then he shows up looking for me."

"Who? Mark?" Cuddy asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. That was pleasant," House said sarcastically. "He came to see me for advice on how to deal with Stacy."

"Oh God," Cuddy whispered in horror.

"I tried to avoid him, but he followed me into a stairwell and tried to climb after me. I got away from him as fast as I could, but it really hit me that if our positions had been reversed, there would be no way that I would go to him for advice. And I realized how much he loved her."

Cuddy watched as House became lost in thought again. He was silent for several minutes, but she knew that he wasn't done. He finally looked up at her and continued.

"I thought about our relationship before the infarction, and I realized that I've been remembering it through rose colored glasses. In my mind, our relationship back then was nearly perfect, but when I really thought about it, I realized that it wasn't. All of the problems that surfaced between us after I got sick were there beforehand. The infarction just magnified them. And perhaps sped along what would have happened eventually anyways. I went to go see Stacy, and she had decided to leave Mark, but I told her that it would never work out between us and that she should go home with him."

"I'm sorry," Cuddy told him quietly.

"It's not your fault."

"I did hire her back."

"That's true," House looked at her speculatively. "Why did you do that?"

Cuddy sighed as she examined her motives. "You and Stacy never really got to have any closure. I was hoping that her being here would get you that. Perhaps help you to move on with your life. It kind of backfired."

House gave her a sad smirk. "Not really. I've got closure out the wazoo now."

Cuddy chuckled wryly at his words and then glanced over at the clock on the DVD player.

"It's getting kind of late," she told him.

House looked at the clock. It was actually a little early by his standards, but it had been an action packed day, and he was exhausted – both emotionally and physically. It amazed him how much could change in the course of a day.

"I hope your not expecting me to be gentlemanly and offer you my bed while I sleep on the couch. Being a cripple trumps being a woman in the chivalric hierarchy." His face took on a leer. "Unless you want join me?" he offered.

"The couch is just fine," she assured him. He got up, left the room and returned with some blankets.

"'Night Cuddy," he told her.

"Goodnight, House. Rest up. I expect my half an hour of piano music just after breakfast."

House smiled as he went to bed, feeling lighter than he had in a long time.

TBC

A/N2: Thanks for the reviews. I even got a marriage proposal! This was an interesting chapter to write because it was actually one of the first things that popped into my when this story first grabbed hold of me. And although many of my original ideas for this story have changed, the idea of a game leading them to talk hasn't. I hope that House didn't turn out too OOC. I know that he's not one to talk about his emotions, but he's going through a difficult time, he's a little drunk, and RL people can act a little OOC when they're stuck in a blizzard. I've been there. And, at least in my little world, he needed to let someone know the real reason that he broke up with Stacy. I also wasn't completely satisfied with the Cuddy/Stacy scene in 'Need to Know', and this is my humble attempt to fix it in my mind. The next chapter should have a little Huddy action.

Please Review. I'm doing the end of quarter paperwork, and the reviews make it bearable.


	11. Chapter 11

Rediscovery

By Ellie J

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. The illness I mentioned in the last chapter turned into a bad upper respiratory infection and the docs gave me some really good cough medicine that had the unfortunate side effect of making it very difficult to think.

Chapter 11

Cuddy slowly opened her eyes and stretched to work the kink out of her neck. House's couch was not comfortable. She groaned as she moved into a sitting position. The combination of the accident yesterday and the lumpy couch last night made for some seriously displeased muscles. She briefly regretted not taking House up on his offer to join him in the bed, but the Dean of Medicine in her quickly squashed that sentiment.

Cuddy sat there for a moment trying to decide if she wanted coffee or a shower first. She finally decided to start the coffee before taking a shower so it would be ready by the time she was done. She made her way to the kitchen where she found House's coffee, measured it, and started it brewing. Cuddy saw the bottle of the painkillers that he had given her yesterday on the kitchen table. She smiled as she took some. She then went back to the living room, grabbed her bag and headed for the bathroom to start her shower.

House closed his eyes tighter as the sound of the shower running invaded his sleep. The noise wouldn't go away. He opened his eyes and squinted at his alarm clock and groaned. Only Cuddy would get up before 8:00 in the morning on a day when she didn't have to be at work. He turned over and wrapped himself in his blankets as he tried to ignore the shower. The smell of brewing coffee peaked his interest a few moments later. He opened his eyes again and decided to stop fighting the inevitable. He got out of bed and walked to the kitchen where he poured himself a cup.

He took a long drink and closed his eyes as he waited for the caffeine to kick in. House thought about the previous evening's game. It hadn't turned out at all like he had expected when he had first suggested it to Cuddy. He was not one to talk about his feelings, but it had felt right last night to share them with Cuddy. He knew that she would understand without asking lots of stupid questions or giving him suggestions on how to make it better. That's not what he wanted, and she understood that. It had felt good. Not that he planned on having this emotional diarrhea of the mouth on a regular basis, but every once in a while, he mused to himself, a person needed a good cleaning out.

House inspected his cupboards. He really didn't have much to offer in the way of breakfast. Only a couple of boxes of children's cereal that he had gotten because he wanted the toy inside. He opened up the refrigerator, grabbed the milk and inspected the expiration date. It was still good. He poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms and waited for Cuddy to finish her shower. He smiled as he thought of Cuddy's thong and bra safely tucked away in his nightstand. Last night was definitely one of the good ones.

He heard the shower turn off and Cuddy appeared a few minutes later, wearing one of the more professional outfits that she had packed. They stared uncertainly at one another for a moment.

"I see you've brought the girls out for an airing in your nice outfit" he said, breaking the silence.

Cuddy smiled. This was familiar territory. "The sweats were getting a little grungy after wearing them all day yesterday and then sleeping in them."

"You're not hearing any complaints from me. I'm all for any outfit that that gives me a good view of the twins," he leered.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me," she deadpanned. Cuddy poured herself some coffee and inspected the cereal selection that he left on the countertop. "Do you have anything that won't rot my teeth?" she asked.

"They came with really cool toys," he told her. She chuckled as she finally decided on the Fruit Loops, telling herself that it at least had the word 'fruit' in the name.

They ate their breakfast in relative silence. House had turned on the radio and they were listening to the latest weather report. It had stopped snowing, but another storm was approaching.

Cuddy sighed as she ran her hand through her still wet hair.

"Sick of my company already, Dr. Cuddy?" House asked in a faux-hurt voice

She smiled. "Hardly," she told him. "I just hate being away from the hospital when something like this is going on."

"You know, rumor has it that you have a top notch staff who can handle this sort of thing."

"I know," she said. "And I trust them. I just hate …" she trailed off, not sure what she wanted to say.

"You hate not being the one calling the shots," he finished for her.

She smiled at him and nodded her head. "Yes I do," she said.

They were silent again for a few moments. "I've been thinking about what I want you to play for my private little concert," she said.

House scrunched up his face. "You're not actually going to make me do that, are you?" he whined.

"You bet your sweet ass I am," she told him. "And if you refuse, I will assign you an extra four hours of clinic duty a week, and I'll make sure Brenda gives you the patients that are going to ask a lot of really stupid questions."

"Fine," he grumbled as he stood to put his bowl in the sink. Cuddy smiled at his little boy antics, but refrained from saying anything as she finished her own cereal.

"You start warming up. I'm going to call the hospital and make sure everything's all right," she told him.

"Jawohl," House barked as he headed out of the kitchen. Cuddy picked up the phone and called Wilson.

"How're things going over there?" she asked when she got a hold of him.

"Fine. We raided pediatrics and stole all of their games for the off-duty people to play when they aren't sleeping," he told her. "We're short, of course, but everyone's really pulling together to make sure that the patients don't suffer."

"That's good," she said.

"How're things going with House?" he asked her.

She smiled as she remembered House's call to Wilson last night. She looked over at him in the living room and watched him warming up on the piano. "Just fine," she replied.

"Just fine," he repeated.

"Yes, is there a problem?" she asked.

"Uh, no. I just got a very odd call from him last night, and I was wondering what precipitated it," he told her.

"I wouldn't know," she said.

"Cuddy!" House called from the next room. "I've got your theme song right here," he said as he began to play the Wicked Witch of the West theme from The Wizard of Oz.

"I've got to go, Dr. Wilson. The natives are restless. Call me if anything happens," she said as she hung up on a very confused James Wilson.

She walked into the living room with a big smile on her face as House finished off the song with a flourish. "I can just hear you telling me, 'I'll get you my pretty! And your little Chase too!'"

"Chase?"

"He's the closest thing I've got to a dog."

She chuckled. "If it would mean that you would wear a blue dress with braids in your hair, then I'll say whatever you want me to."

House laughed as he continued to lightly play. "So you've got a half an hour of playtime. What do you want first?" he asked. She pulled a chair over next to the piano so she could watch him play.

"Some Gershwin," she told him.

"Anything in particular?" he asked. She shook her head, and House began playing 'Puttin' on the Ritz'. She smiled to herself as she watched his long fingers dance over the keys. He played whatever she asked over the next half an hour. Everything from Mozart to Porter from Chopin to Queen. All from memory. He finished up his concert with a jubilant version of Joplin's 'The Entertainer'. Cuddy applauded in appreciation.

House nodded in acknowledgement and continued playing. Cuddy was perfectly content to stay and listen to him.

"How're things with the baby?" he asked after a while.

"The hospital's doing fine. Wilson was still a little confused about your phone call last night."

"I'll bet he was," House said with a grin. "I've come up with a plausible explanation for him though."

House's smile made Cuddy instantly wary. "What?" she asked.

"That you agreed to wear nothing but one of my t-shirts if I called him up and told him that crap."

"What?" she gasped.

"You heard me."

"He'll never believe you," she told him.

"Wanna bet? Can you think of a more believable explanation than the chance to see my boss almost naked?" he leered evilly.

"You could tell him the truth. That we were playing a game."

"You told me not to tell him," he complained.

"That was last night before you started planning to ruin my reputation at the hospital," she told him.

"Can I tell about the other parts of the game too?" he asked hopefully thinking of his new underwear collection.

"Only if you want the entire hospital to find out what your middle name is and have an extra five hours of clinic duty a week."

"You use the threat of more clinic hours like a club."

"I use the weapons that work," she told him. "Do we understand each other?" she asked.

"I'm just your little lap dog," he said.

Cuddy snorted. "Yeah, that'll be the day."

House just grinned as he continued to play. Cuddy found herself watching his hands again. He had really nice hands, she noted to herself.

"When did you start taking lessons?" she asked.

"My mother taught me 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' when I was four, and I've been wowing the ladies with my musical prowess ever since.

"Well it's nice that you can wow them with something," Cuddy said with a smile as she closed her eyes to concentrate on the music.

"Nice," he replied.

House watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was a good audience and seemed content to let him play whatever he wanted. He didn't think he had played for anyone like this since moving out of his parents' house. Stacy was either telling him to keep it down or asking him to play something else as she was buzzing around doing work. She never just sat and listened. This was nice.

Cuddy felt his gaze on her, and she opened her eyes to meet it. He had a small smile on his face as he was looking at her. Her stomach fluttered with unwanted feelings as she noticed that his eyes seemed bluer than normal. She heard a voice in her head telling her to turn away, make a joke -- do something to break this mood that she had fallen into, but she was helpless. House stopped playing, and the silent tension between them grew.

The phone rang, breaking the spell. Cuddy felt her cheeks redden as relief mingled with disappointment flooded her veins. She forced herself to take slow steadying breaths as House went to pick up the phone.

"What?" he barked, upset that whatever had been happening between him and Cuddy had been interrupted.

"Excuse me?" he heard an unfamiliar voice ask. "I was given this as a contact number for Dr. Cuddy?"

"Who're you?" House asked rudely.

"My name is Erik Mueller."

"Ahhh, Herr Mueller. I've heard of you." Cuddy's eyes widened at House's comment. She scrambled up from her chair as she grabbed the phone away from House before

he could say anything else.

"Mr. Mueller, what can I do for you?" she asked in the most pleasant voice she could scrounge up. House shook his head in distaste as he watched her get into her 'schmoozing' persona.

"Dr. Cuddy, is it your normal practice to be away from your hospital during a crisis?" Cuddy's grip tightened over the phone as she counted to ten before allowing herself to answer.

"I was in a small accident on my way to the hospital and got stranded at a friend's house," she told him as patiently as she could.

"I'll bet," he said in a smarmy tone.

"Mr. Mueller, is there a reason for your call?"

"Yes, I want to complain about the shocking lack of courtesy displayed by your staff. I have called them several times asking for information, and they can never get it to me in a timely manner."

"Mr. Mueller, you have to understand that the hospital is running short-staffed right now. Patient care has to be the priority. I would be happy to schedule an appointment with you when the weather clears up to discuss your questions."

"Dr. Cuddy," Mueller began in an officious tone, "your staff has been unbearably rude to me over the past twenty-four hours, and I want something done about it."

"I understand that you're upset, Mr. Mueller. I promise to look into it when I'm able to get back to the hospital."

Mueller snorted over the phone and Cuddy bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from yelling at him. "I must say, if this is the way that you run your hospital, then I am seriously going to have to rethink my support."

Cuddy's stomach tensed. She did not need this now. She cracked her neck as she chose her next words very carefully. "I'm sorry that you feel that way, Mr. Mueller. Your money does a lot of good at the hospital, and I would hate to lose it. Would you at least wait until the blizzard is over so that we can schedule some time to discuss it?"

"I might be persuaded. Perhaps a meeting over dinner?" he asked in what was supposed to be a seductive tone of voice. Cuddy repressed a frustrated groan.

"I don't think dinner would work for me. I was thinking more over lunch at the hospital so that you can see the good work that your money does," she said.

"My days are very busy in the foreseeable future."

Cuddy closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. She was about to respond when the phone was snatched out of her hand. She opened her eyes in shock as she saw House limping quickly away with the phone pressed to his ear.

"Herr Mueller," House said in his Housiest voice. "She's not interested in you! Get with the program! You are never going to experience having a leather clad Dr. Cuddy tie you up and whip you into submission. It's up to you whether or not you're going to withdraw your support of the hospital. There's nothing that we can do to stop you. But be honest about the reason. It has nothing to do with hospital efficiency. It's because Dr. Cuddy isn't willing to play Doctor with you and bruised your ego. So take your money and leave or keep it where it is. Either way, stop harassing her and stop harassing the hospital staff. That's what they have me for!" he said as he hung up the phone and tossed it on the table.

He turned to face Cuddy. Her eyes were blazing in anger at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? That man gives over five million dollars to the hospital every year!"

"Oh Cuddy," House said in a disgusted tone of voice. "He's just looking for any excuse to withdraw his support because you won't go out with him, and he'll drive everyone crazy until he does. It's not worth it."

"Really?" Cuddy asked scathingly. "Maybe I should take the money out of your budget? I know you don't like donors, House, but they are the reason why you get to run so many tests. And the reason why you have three highly qualified doctors at your beck and call. His money helps pay their salaries. It also helps pay for the nurses' salaries. And the medication for the clinic patients who don't have insurance. And for your damn lawsuits! I know he was looking for an excuse to withdraw his money, but I was trying hard not to give him one, and you just took that away without a moment's thought."

"Would you have gone out with him to keep his money?"

"What?" she exclaimed.

"Five million dollars is a lot of money, Cuddy. Were you considering going out with him to keep the money for your precious hospital? Maybe you were holding out for more. Hoping he'd up the ante? How much would it have cost him to get between your legs?"

Cuddy inhaled sharply as her anger got out of control. She slapped him as hard as she could. House grabbed her hand and held onto it, his own temper flaring.

They just stared at one another for a moment, the angry tension sizzling between them. Then House began to rub small circles on her palm with his thumb as his gaze intensified. Cuddy's mouth went dry as her anger shifted into something else. She could feel her heart begin to race. House's grip on her hand tightened, and she saw him look at her lips a second before he pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his. She opened her mouth in surprise, and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

All rational thought was immediately driven from Cuddy's mind. She could only concentrate on him. The way he smelled. The way his stubble tickled her face. The way he sounded as he moaned into her mouth. She didn't even think about not responding as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her toes to give herself better access to his lips. His hands caressed her back as he pulled her against him.

They kissed like that for some time and only stopped when they both began to get lightheaded from lack of oxygen. Cuddy rested her forehead against him while House kept his arms securely around her. She noticed that he was leaning on the back of his couch for support and realized that he must have dropped his cane. She ran her hands across his chest and could feel his heart pounding through the thin material of his t-shirt. She focused all of her attention on that shirt, suddenly afraid of what was going to happen next.

House pulled away a bit and gently lifted her chin to meet his gaze. Instead of the smug gloating that she had been dreading, his eyes were filled with the same surprised desire that she was feeling. This gave her the courage to raise her hand to caress his cheek and then to run her fingers through his hair as she pulled his head down to her. She moved in slowly, wanting to savor this. She trembled as she felt their lips touch in the briefest of caresses.

The phone rang again. Cuddy jumped and turned away. House swore as he grabbed the phone where he had tossed it after talking to Mueller.

"This had better be good," he growled.

"House?" Wilson asked.

"Wilson, you need to call back later," House was about to turn off the phone when he heard Wilson yell.

"I need to talk to Cuddy!"

House sighed. Cuddy walked over to him with her hand outstretched, refusing to look him in the eye.

"What do you need, Wilson?" Cuddy asked, not as steadily as she would have liked.

"I think I've found a way to get you to the hospital, if you're interested."

Cuddy wondered for a moment how someone could feel so disappointed and relieved at the same time.

"Yeah, of course. What have you got?" she asked.

"We're bringing in a dialysis patient who only lives a block away from House. You could hitch a ride in with them."

Cuddy closed her eyes. This decision was far more difficult than it should have been. Her hospital was running short staffed. She should grab at any opportunity to be there. But a part of her was screaming to forget work and spend the day with House. The Dean of Medicine won the argument. "When are they scheduled to pick up the patient?"

"You have about a half an hour," Wilson told her.

"Thanks. Oh, who gave Mueller House's number to contact me?" she asked.

"What?" Wilson asked, surprised.

"Mueller called over here to talk to me."

"Oh God, did House talk to him?"

"Unfortunately. We may have lost his money. I'll try and contact him later to smooth things over," she said, turning around to ignore House's scowl. "I'll see you in a bit." She hung up the phone. Cuddy could feel House's eyes boring into her back.

"You'll be seeing Wilson?" House asked, even though he could guess at an answer.

"He's found me a ride to the hospital," she told him. "They'll be here in half an hour. I've got to get packed." She didn't move, waiting for him to say something, but he just studied her. Cuddy repressed the urge to fidget and returned his gaze.

They sat like that for several moments, just silently studying the other. Trying to figure out what the other one was thinking. House finally broke the silence.

"You're missing your cue here Cuddy. You're supposed to say, 'House we need to forget that amazing kiss ever happened because I'm your boss and it would be highly inappropriate for us to feel each other up.'"

Cuddy watched him carefully. "It **_would_** be inappropriate," she reminded him. "Do you think it was a mistake?" she asked, her tone revealing nothing.

House shifted uncomfortably. Cuddy wasn't reacting the way he expected, and he didn't like it. House watched her closely, looking unsuccessfully for some clue as to what she was feeling.

"It was a nice kiss," he finally answered in a neutral tone of voice.

"Yes it was," she replied.

"Would you be opposed to it happening again?" he asked slowly.

Cuddy looked away. "That's where it gets complicated."

House waited for her to answer his question.

After a moment of silence Cuddy took a deep breath and met his gaze. "In theory, a relationship between us is a disaster waiting to happen. In reality, I would not be opposed to it happening again, but it's all happening a little too fast for me."

House chuckled. "Cuddy, we've known each other for almost twenty years. I would hate to see what you think qualifies as normal pace."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," she told him a little impatiently. "In the space of twenty-four hours we've gone from being coworkers who fight most of the time to …" she trailed off as she searched for the words to describe their current relationship.

"Being very good friends who were five minutes away from doing the wild thing on my living room floor?" House helpfully finished.

Cuddy rolled her eyes at his phrasing. "I wouldn't have put it that way, but yes."

House groaned as he pushed away from the couch and bent to pick up his cane. "Why do women have to complicate everything? Why does kissing and sex have to require an in depth discussion?"

Cuddy looked down to study the floor. "House, if we slept together, do you honestly think that it would only be the one time? Do you think that it wouldn't affect our friendship?"

She surprised him again with that question. He was trying to be flippant, and she wasn't letting him. "No," he finally answered.

"And that's why we need to think about it. I am your boss. There are no rules against it, but you're already my most problematic employee, and the Board could have issues with us seeing each other."

"They can mind their own damn business," House complained. "Cuddy, you're too much of a professional to even think about giving me special privileges because I'm your boy toy. I know that. And I would be disappointed if you stopped trying to keep me in line."

Cuddy laughed. "I knew you liked to get in trouble."

"You're very sexy when you're angry."

Cuddy smiled affectionately at him before continuing with her thoughts. "There's also the fact that I … I've missed your friendship since the infarction. There are very few people in my life who know the real me, and you're one of them." She paused for a moment and smiled ruefully to herself. "I have lots of acquaintances and people that I mingle with for professional reasons, but no one who knows me. No one who knows that I'm addicted to watching James Bond movies. No one who knows me well enough to make fun of me when I get too serious."

Cuddy forced herself to look at House. "I just got that back with you, and I don't want to screw that up again by making a decision based on hormones and unusual circumstances. A week ago, you were doing whatever you could to get Stacy back into your life. Yesterday, you wouldn't have even called us friends. I'm not saying that I'm against starting something with you. I just don't want to it without making sure that it's based in reality and not the fact that you're lonely and we've been stuck in close quarters for twenty-four hours."

House contemplated all that she said. He understood her point, but he didn't have to like it. "I am over Stacy," he said, wanting to drive that point home.

"So you say," Cuddy replied, "but that doesn't mean that you should necessarily try and jump into a new relationship less than a week after she leaves town."

"How long do you want to wait?" he finally asked.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"You say you don't want to rush things. I can reluctantly accept that, but I want some sort of timeline. I'm not going to hang around indefinitely while you try and decide if this is something you want."

"I don't know? Three months?" she asked pulling a random number out of her head.

"Three months!" he complained. "Now you're just being ridiculous. We've known each other for a long time. It shouldn't take you that long to decide if you want to do me. One month," he counter-offered.

"That's not long enough. Budget time is coming up, and if Mueller does withdraw his money I'm going to be in lots of meetings over the next month that won't put me in a very receptive mood. Two months," she offered.

"Two months," he grudgingly accepted. "Today is February 17th. For the next two months we'll be 'just friends'," he said sarcastically. "Just remember to keep April 17th open. I plan on seducing you."

She chuckled at his determination. "You're pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"Of course. I'm irresistible," he joked. But then his face became serious and he looked away. "Cuddy, you know me too. In all the years we've known each other, you've never seriously tried to change me. You've complained about me. You've manipulated me into doing things against my will, but you've never tried to turn me into someone else. And you've always been there. Even when I didn't want you to be. That tells me all I really need to know." He paused and met her eyes briefly before looking away again. "I can accept that you need time to do all sorts of soul searching and crap like that, but in the end I know you'll come to the conclusion that it will be worth the risk."

Cuddy could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She fought the urge to push him down on the couch and have her way with him right then and there. "I think that's the nicest think you've ever said to me," she told him. She grinned at him, forcing herself to make a joke. "You never know, House. After two months of soul searching, you could be the one to change your mind."

House chuckled. "Yeah, like I would change my mind about getting free access to the fun bags."

Cuddy examined the clock. "I really need to pack before the ambulance gets here."

"Remind me to properly thank Wilson for interrupting us. I really need to think up something special for him," House said darkly.

House watched Cuddy gather her things. The ambulance was in front of his building by the time she was done. He opened the door for her as she left.

"Cuddy."

She turned to look at him.

"April 17th," he reminded her seriously. She smiled and headed for her ride to the hospital.

TBC

A/N2: Yes, I'm evil. But I never intended for House and Cuddy to have sex during the blizzard. I really don't think Cuddy would be comfortable with their relationship changing that much that quickly. But guess what? We're almost done. And don't worry, I love angst, but I love happy (well as happy as House can get) endings more.

A/N3: I know I wasn't the only one disappointed that there was no piano scene in this week's episode. Damn promo pictures. Anyhoo, my muse is niggling at me to do an add on to 'All In' so I may break my own rule again and work on that if she keeps bothering me like this.

You guys really overwhelmed me with the reviews the last chapter. Thanks so much for them. They really helped me feel better during the illness. Well – the reviews and the narcotic laced cough medicine.


	12. Chapter 12

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: I don't own House. If I did, Cuddy wouldn't be portrayed as an incompetent doctor most of the time.

A/N1: My 'All In' add on will have to wait. I was so upset at the lack of the piano scene that I forgot to tell my Tivo not to delete the episode so I could re-watch it when I was calmer. So it's going to have to wait until the transcript is up at twiztv.

* * *

Chapter 12

Cuddy glanced at the clock on her desk as she attempted to read the reports in front of her. House was due back at work today. He had gotten an extra two days off because of the weather, but the roads were now clear enough for people to get around again. When he had called the previous night, she had told him that she expected him in today. He complained, of course, but she knew that he was starting to get bored at his place.

They had talked every night since she had returned to the hospital. She had been pleasantly surprised when he had called her that first evening. It had been a long day catching up on what had happened while she had been stranded at his place and trying to deal with the possible Mueller fallout, but he had still managed to make her laugh. It had become a nightly ritual. He would call in the early evening hours when she was less likely to be working and would help her unwind from the day.

Cuddy fought the urge to get up and wait for him at the door. It wasn't that she hadn't done it before, but she had always had some hospital related excuse: a patient or a rebuke of some kind. This morning she just wanted to see him. The problem was that she wasn't comfortable expressing that feeling just yet. She consoled herself with the knowledge that once he had discovered what she had done, he would present himself in her office soon enough.

Cuddy repressed a grin as House burst into her office twenty minutes later with an annoyed look on his face.

"You gave Cameron the next four days off?" he asked loudly.

"Dr. Cameron was one of the staff who worked through the blizzard. I'm giving as many of them as I can time off. Cameron - since she works for you - doesn't currently have any patients and your department can function just fine with one less doctor for a few days," she told him calmly.

He looked angrily at her as he opened his vicodin bottle and dry swallowed a couple of pills. "I'm her boss. I'm the one who approves her vacation time."

Cuddy stood up and matched him glare for glare. "I'm the Dean of Medicine of this hospital, and I have the authority to give vacation time to whomever I want. You have two other qualified doctors who can help you with any cases that come up."

House deflated a little. "But they won't open up my mail," he complained.

Cuddy smiled in amusement. "Oh, poor baby," she said sarcastically.

"Fine," House growled as he threw himself into one of her chairs in mock defeat.

She chuckled at his antics as she sat back down and their eyes met. They shared a genuine smile before House looked away.

"So how are things going on the Mueller front?" he asked.

Cuddy sighed. "I'm having lunch with him tomorrow to try and convince him to reconsider. I'm hoping to at least talk him into slowly withdrawing his support so that we can look for alternative funding. I would ask you to apologize, but I'm not going to give you the chance of offending him even more. Just stay out of the way."

"Are you ashamed of me?" he asked.

"Yes, me being ashamed of you is the only possible reason I don't want you anywhere near a huge donor that you've already insulted once."

"Hey! I insulted him to defend your honor," he protested.

Cuddy scoffed. "Whatever. You were just annoyed that he interrupted your little concert."

"He was making a pest of himself to Wilson, to you, and to everyone at this hospital. And you were all letting him get away with it, just because he gives a shitload of money to the place. He shouldn't get special treatment because he's rich."

"Yes, it's _not_ fair that someone gets special treatment, even though he's a jackass, because he has something that this hospital needs," Cuddy replied sarcastically. House made a 'What me?' face and Cuddy repressed the urge to throw her stapler at him before she continued. "This hospital uses his shitload of money to help a lot of people. So if he requires little schmoozing, then so be it."

House opened his mouth to say something, but Cuddy interrupted.

"And no prostitute comments," she said sternly.

House made a disgusted noise as he looked away, but kept his mouth shut.

"I believe that you're scheduled for clinic this morning," she told him.

House raised his head in surprise. "I can't believe that you're going to make me do clinic hours when we've just been reunited."

"Believe it, buster," she told him with a smile.

House found himself, against his will, smiling back. He leaned in closer, his eyes flickering downward to appreciate her low cut top.

"You know you missed me," he told her.

Cuddy chuckled at the attempt to distract her from his clinic duty. "You called every night. I didn't have time to miss you," she said.

"And I suppose that I used my powers of mind control to force you to talk to me every evening."

"Did you miss me?" she asked in a low voice.

"Nah," he replied in an offhand manner. "I didn't need to. I had your thong and bra to keep me company."

Cuddy raised her eyebrow knowingly. "Are you telling me that you can't tell the difference between me and my underwear?"

House, who thoroughly approved of where this conversation was leading, was about to reply when Wilson entered Cuddy's office.

"Cuddy, have you --" he began and then noticed House sitting at her desk. "There you are," he said. "Foreman and Chase are looking for you."

Cuddy looked down and pretended to study some papers as she hid her smile at the murderous look that House was throwing Wilson's way. She watched as House stood up and limped out of her office in uncharacteristic silence as he tossed one more scathing glare at Wilson.

"Wow," Wilson said in shock. "What's got his shorts in a twist?"

Cuddy thought quickly, looking for any excuse other than Wilson's chronic case of bad timing for House's temper. It wasn't that she expected to keep it from him forever. She just didn't want to deal with it at this moment. "Did he tell you about our game of 'Truth or Dare'?" she asked.

Wilson blushed a little. "Yeah, but he wouldn't tell me anything other than your dare to call me," he said quickly.

"I can only imagine what he hinted at," Cuddy griped before continuing. "One of the truths that House discovered was our little conspiracy last year to get him to start seeing patients again. I was reminding him that he had clinic duty this morning when you walked in."

Wilson actually paled a little at Cuddy's revelation. "Oh God. He's going to do something very bad to me, isn't he?" he asked rhetorically.

Cuddy merely raised her eyebrow as she picked up her pen to make some notes in the margin of the paper in front of her.

"Right," Wilson said after a moment. "Well, I'm going to go. You don't think he's had time to set up any booby traps in my office?" he asked without really expecting an answer. He stood and walked towards her office door and then turned around. "I may take you up on that vacation time after all," he said.

"I wouldn't" Cuddy told him. "It would just give him more time to plot against you."

Wilson nodded. "You're right," he said sadly. He walked out of her office like a condemned man. Cuddy chuckled. Watching House and Wilson over the next few days would definitely be amusing.

* * *

House bypassed the clinic as he made his way to his office. He was in a sour mood at Wilson interrupting his and Cuddy's 'almost moment' yet again. They really needed to work on some sort of booty call signal. Not that he was going to have Cuddy's booty anytime soon, but Wilson was ruining the booty call setup.

House paused a moment at his office door before entering, a reluctant smile appearing on his face. Chase and Foreman were sitting at the table talking animatedly to each other. He could only guess what they were arguing about this time.

"Hello boys! I'm baa-aack," he said as he opened the door and made his way to the coffeemaker to pour himself a cup.

"How was your vacation?" Foreman tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible. House studied him as he sipped his coffee. He turned to study Chase who was eagerly waiting for a response.

"Fine," he answered slowly. "Why are the two of you so interested in my vacation?" he asked. He hoped that word of Cuddy being at his place hadn't leaked out. He didn't think that she wanted those kinds of rumors floating around as they were in this 'pre-dating/just friends' stage of their relationship.

Foreman and Chase looked at one another a moment before Chase finally answered. "We bet on whether or not you left town for your vacation. Foreman said that you would go someplace like Atlantic City or Vegas to … uh."

"Drown my sorrows in a den of debauchery?" House finished for him.

"Yeah," Chase said, relieved that he hadn't had to say it. "I said that you were too cheap to travel someplace expensive to gamble and drink when you could do all that from the comfort of your home."

He smiled at his staff. He had taught them well. "Foreman, give Chase his money. I've been at home spending time with my friend Jack Daniels and getting caught up in my backlog of porn. It's nice to see that Wilson didn't blab my plans to everyone in the hospital."

Chase smiled triumphantly as he held out his hand to Foreman who passed over several large bills.

"So, do we have any cases?" House asked.

"We've just gotten back ourselves. There's been no time to find a case." Foreman said in an annoyed voice. "Besides, Cameron's not here yet."

"Cameron was here during the crisis," House informed them, "and Cuddy gave her the next four days off as some sort of reward. I guess being a do-gooder had to be good for something eventually. So it's just going to be us for the next few days. I say we do something that we couldn't do if Cameron were here. Anyone up for a showing of 'Debbie Does Dallas' in the office?"

Foreman scoffed. "I'd love to see the look on Cuddy's face if she walked in on you watching porn in the hospital."

House smiled as he remembered Cuddy's face as she threw the books at him when he watched the porn with her at his place. She was very sexy when she was angry.

"So would I," he said with a smirk. Chase and Foreman rolled their eyes at one another.

His phone rang. House's mouth twitched to see Cuddy's extension on the Caller I.D.

"What do you want?" he said cheerfully into the phone.

"I told Wilson that you know about our little conspiracy to get you seeing patients again," she told him without preamble.

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"He wondered why you stormed out of the office in a bad mood, and I didn't want to tell him that he was interrupting our … whatever."

"Again," he said.

"Again," she agreed. "I just thought you should know the cover story."

"I do plan on eventually telling him," House said, choosing his words carefully in front of Chase and Foreman."

"I know," Cuddy replied. "Just give me a day or so to get used to you being here again first."

"You're the boss," he said. House smiled as he thought of Wilson's current predicament. "He's a little nervous, isn't he?" he asked.

"He did mention something about checking his office for booby traps."

"Excellent," he said evilly.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the clinic?" she asked him with a hint of steel in her voice.

"Wilson said that my team was looking for me and I had to find them," he explained in a reasonable tone that he knew would drive her crazy.

"Have you conferred with them?"

"Yes," he said.

"Then get to the clinic."

"How do you know that they don't have a case for me?"

"Because I would know if they had a case for you. Get to the clinic."

"And if I don't?" he asked.

Cuddy laughed throatily. "Then there will be no chance of you ever getting to see the rest of my underwear collection," she told him.

House's imagination was instantly filled with images of Cuddy wearing various lacy things.

"Okay," he said when he could finally speak again. He wanted to say more, but was acutely aware of his audience. He heard Cuddy's triumphant chuckle as he hung up the phone. The next seven weeks were probably going to kill him, he reflected to himself.

House looked up to see both Chase and Foreman staring at him with confused expressions on their faces.

"I really need to find a good sexual harassment lawyer," he said mournfully. "I just don't know how much longer I can stand her threatening me like this." Chase smiled, and Foreman shook his head in exasperation. House grinned as he left his office for the clinic.

He lost his smile as he thought about what the next several weeks were going to be like. He knew … he _knew_ he could get Cuddy to change her mind about the deadline if he really pressed it. And a part of him wanted to change her mind so badly that he could almost taste it. But at the same time he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize his long-term relationship with her.

He didn't want there to be any regrets when they finally got together. He didn't want her to feel like he had used unfair tactics to get her into bed. He wanted her to choose to be with him without any regrets and without any coercion. And if that meant giving her time to realize that they could have a very successful relationship, then that's what he would do.

He would just have to spend the next couple of months taking cold showers twice a day.

TBC.

A/N2: I was originally going to go straight to eight weeks in the future, but I then I realized that really wouldn't wrap up the story like I wanted to. Don't worry. I'm not going to be spending inordinate amounts of time depicting what happens. Just enough to tie up some loose ends and show how House and Cuddy interact back at work. I think there are probably just two chapters left in the whole story. I don't have any plans for a sequel at this time, but I do have other Huddy stories floating around in my head.

A/N3: Thanks for the wonderful reviews. Remember, they are my drugs of choice.


	13. Chapter 13

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: House and Company don't belong to me. If they did I would be much richer than I am now. Seriously, it's not worth suing me.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. My muse went off to Honolulu and didn't invite me along. Bitch. But she's back for now.

Chapter 13

House entered the hospital with a bag of food and looked around carefully to make sure that no one saw him. It was extremely unusual for him in the hospital this late when he didn't have a patient, and he had no desire to cause any hospital speculation. At least at this point.

Satisfied that there was no one paying attention to him, he nonchalantly made his way to Cuddy's office. She usually worked late on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it had become his practice to bring her something to eat. He scowled at the thought that he was becoming pussy whipped before he had even had gotten any pussy, but consoled himself with the fact that he and Cuddy bickered as much as ever.

He quickly opened her office door and let himself in. She was talking on the phone. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and she gestured for him to sit down.

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it," she said as she hung up the phone. "So what did you bring tonight?" she asked House.

"For you – a cobb salad. For me – a double bacon cheeseburger with extra fries." Cuddy groaned at his choice. "Just to remind you, I don't think the transplant committee would approve you for a new heart."

House gave her a dirty look. "Are you saying that you wouldn't pull any strings to help me?"

"Do you have any idea how many members of that committee you've mortally insulted? There aren't enough strings in the world."

"Hmph. I don't know what good it's going to do me to be screwing the boss, if it's not going to get me things like new organs when mine fail."

"You'll just have to take care of the ones you've already got," Cuddy told him pointedly.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Cuddy ignored him and began to eat her salad. "So what's going on with Wilson?" she asked, changing the subject.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He's been walking the halls with an extremely tense look for the past week." Cuddy looked up in time to see a self-satisfied smirk cross House's face. "House, what are you doing to Dr. Wilson?" she asked in a dark tone.

"Nothing," he said loftily.

"House…"

"Cuddy, I'm seriously doing nothing to him. That's the genius behind my plan. He comes near me and I give him a little smile and he gets all nervous. His own imagination is getting to him far better than I ever could."

"I'm sure, but he's driving me crazy. He's been acting twitchy during the Board meetings this week. Either do something to him or let him off the hook."

"Wow, I have you permission to play a practical joke in the hospital," House stated in an amazed voice.

Cuddy snorted. "Like you would stop if I asked you to. I assume you won't damage him too badly. He is your only male friend." House raised his eyebrow and dived into his fries. Cuddy looked at him speculatively.

"Have you told him about us yet?" she asked after a while. House met her gaze, trying to figure out what she was thinking, but her face was a mask.

"If I had, then Wilson would have come and talked to you about it by now," he said. "I thought you wanted me to wait a little bit."

"I said a day or two. It's been over a week."

"Why are you so interested in when I tell Wilson?" he asked.

Cuddy looked down and stabbed her salad with her fork, angry at herself for even bringing it up in the first place.

"I have to tell you," he said when it became obvious that she didn't plan on answering, "that I'm going to have to say no if you're thinking about having a threesome." She still didn't answer. "That is, unless it's a threesome with you and another hot chick. Hmmm… I wonder if Cameron swings that way?" he pretended to muse to himself as he carefully watched her expression. He saw her mouth twitch in annoyance and knew that he almost had her. "Of course, if she doesn't, I'm sure that we can find some nubile young thing to take her place."

Cuddy glared at him and silently picked up a tomato from her salad and threw it at his head.

"Hey!" House said in an offended voice. "You're the one who was interested in a threesome in the first place."

"I am not interested in a threesome with you and Wilson," she told him. "I was just wondering …" she closed her eyes and exhaled sharply as she forced herself to continue. "I was just wondering if you were starting to have second thoughts," she finished quietly.

House looked at her in surprise. "No," he said. "The reason I haven't told him is that I realized I don't want to deal with the lectures that he'd give both of us about starting something."

"Lectures?"

"Yes lectures. He would come to me and say, 'House, she's our boss. Are you insane? This is the worst idea you've had in a long time,'" House said in a fair imitation of Wilson. "Then he would come to you and say, 'Cuddy, are you insane? This is House! What are you thinking about? Besides the really hot sex, that is. Let me tell you, I don't want to deal with picking up the pieces of his delicate little heart if you're just using him for body.'"

Cuddy laughed. "I've never imagined you with a delicate little heart," she said.

House rolled his eyes. "Wilson thinks he's my mother half of the time, and I decided that I just didn't want to deal with him. Besides, I'm having _way_ too much tormenting him. I even broke into his office and let him 'catch' me leaving. He spent the next two hours tearing his office apart looking for traps."

Cuddy sighed and took a sip of her water. "Why am I considering a relationship with a man who acts like he's fourteen most of the time?" she asked herself.

"Because I'm just so darn charming," he answered with a grin. He held a fry up to her. "Here, take one," he offered.

Cuddy's eyes opened in surprise. "Alert the press. Dr. Gregory House has offered to share food that he bought himself with someone else," she said teasingly as she took the fry and ate it.

"Ha ha," House said and offered her another one.

"I don't think so. If I ate too many of them, then you wouldn't enjoy ogling my ass as much as you do now."

House took the fry away, looking thoughtful. "You could be right. I would hate to deprive myself of one of my favorite things about working here."

"My ass?"

"Oh yeah," he leered as he leaned forward. "I consider myself a connoisseur of the female form and you, my dear Dr. Cuddy, have one of the finest asses on the eastern seaboard."

"Really," she said in an amused voice.

"Yes. I have to fight the urge to applaud every time you leave a room -- especially when you're angry with me. It adds a little something to your walk."

"Thanks for sharing," she said dryly.

House leaned in towards her and wiggled his eyebrows like a dirty old man. "No Dr. Cuddy. Thank _you_."

Cuddy smiled in response and without even thinking about began to lean in a little closer to him.

Her office door opened, and Wilson entered.

"Cuddy, I was about ready to …" he stopped as he took in the scene before him. Their meals half eaten on her desk. Cuddy's cheeks were turning slightly pink and House was glaring at him.

"Wilson!" House exclaimed as he lost his temper. "Do you have some sort of tracking device installed somewhere on my body that lets you know when I really don't want to be disturbed?"

Wilson found himself incapable of speech. He had teased House about being attracted to Cuddy, but he had never thought that anything would actually ever happen between them, and now they were sharing intimate meals in her office.

"Are the two of you insane?" he asked sharply when he found his voice.

House rolled his eyes and looked at Cuddy who was giving him an amused look. He got up, grabbed Wilson by the arm, and led him to the door. "I'll be right back," he told Cuddy as they left her office and entered the empty clinic. House forced Wilson into one of the exam rooms and closed the door.

Wilson stared at House. "I knew that you were self-destructive, I just never thought it would go this far. She's your boss! Why are the two of you even considering this?"

House gave him a disgusted look. "Well you see, Jimmy, when a boy and a girl like each other."

"But that's just it! You guys don't like each other," Wilson said testily.

"Where did you ever get that idea?" House asked.

"Umm… from the past five years of watching the two of you interact with one another."

"Foreplay."

"Foreplay?"

"Yes, foreplay. Which, by the way, is the only play I've gotten from her so don't screw this up for me," he groused.

"Yes, because I shouldn't care about the emotional well being of two of my closest friends and be worried about them starting something that's doomed to fail from the start. House, Stacy left again less than a month ago. Cuddy deserves more than to be your rebound girl."

"First of all, a relationship between us is not 'doomed to fail' as you so melodramatically put it. And secondly, Cuddy is not my rebound girl. I'm over Stacy," he said. Wilson gave him a disbelieving look and House smacked him in the leg with his cane.

"Ow!"

"I am over Stacy. Yes I loved her, but we would never have been happy together. I've accepted that and moved on. I do, however, think that Cuddy and I have a decent shot at getting things to work. Especially if I can get my supposed best friend to stop interrupting us. And you better not go to Cuddy and point out all of the difficulties that a relationship between us would entail. Believe me; she's aware of the problems. We're working on them."

"You'd have to change," Wilson warned him.

"What? Cuddy doesn't expect me to change."

"Lisa Cuddy, the person who's known you since college, doesn't expect you to change. Dr. Lisa Cuddy M.D., Dean of Medicine, can't have her boyfriend insulting donors and wreaking havoc at the hospital." Wilson sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Do you have any idea what she goes through in the Board meetings to keep you employed? Half of them already think that she's way too easy on you. If you started seeing each other then there is the possibility that she would lose all credibility where you were concerned and you could both lose your jobs."

House had the good grace to look guilty for a moment. He looked down and studied the floor before answering. "I know it will be difficult. For both of us. But this is something that I have to …" House trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Wilson came to a realization as he watched his friend's expression. "My God, it's not just about getting laid. You really care about her. A lot," he said in wonderment.

House scowled at Wilson, but didn't contradict him. Wilson was silent as he absorbed this knowledge. "It started during the blizzard, right?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah," House replied as he continued to study the floor. A reluctant smile formed on his face as he remembered her time at his place. "It was a good day," he said simply as he briefly met Wilson's eyes.

Wilson studied his friend. "So you haven't … um…"

"Hit a homerun yet?" House finished for him. "Nope. Cuddy doesn't want to rush it. But I'm working on it," he told Wilson.

"I'm sure you are," he said and then thought for a moment. "So the other day when you stormed out of Cuddy's office without speaking to me, it wasn't because I … uh,"

"Stabbed me in the back and conspired to get me back in the damn clinic?"

Wilson nodded.

"No, you interrupted us. Although I am seriously pissed off about the clinic thing."

"Well if you were a grown-up, then we wouldn't have to resort to such measures," Wilson replied.

House smiled. "That's what Cuddy said too."

"So what are you going to do next?" Wilson asked.

"I'm going to go back in there and finish my supper."

"And then?"

"And then what?" House asked.

"She's your boss. And she's worked very hard to get where she is, and I know deep down you don't want to take that from her."

House frowned as he studied the floor. "It's none of the Board's business what happens between two consenting adults. And Cuddy is not going to give me any special treatment because we're seeing each other. I know that. And as long as nothing else changes between us, then the Board can take their complaints and shove them up their collective ass."

"I hope you're right," Wilson said.

House smiled. "I almost always am … eventually."

Wilson chuckled in response as they left the room. House looked at Cuddy's office and went back in. She looked up from her paperwork and smiled.

"The two of you have a nice little talk?" she asked.

"Wonderful. He explained all about the birds and bees to me. It was great."

"You sure did get him out of here quickly," she told him.

House gave a little shrug. "I knew he was going to go into lecture mode, and I thought I'd spare you."

She laughed. "My knight in shining armor," she said facetiously. House smiled and picked up his soda and took a drink as he thought about Wilson's points.

Cuddy watched him for a moment. She knew that expression. "You're brooding. What did he say to you?" she asked.

"I'm not brooding," House said a little defensively. Cuddy merely raised an eyebrow and waited for an answer to her question. House took a deep breath and gave in. "He just pointed out some of the difficulties of a relationship between the two of us."

"Like what?" she asked.

House shook his head and picked up the letter opener on her desk and began to fiddle with it. "He said that I would have to change to be involved with someone in your position."

Cuddy watched him for a moment and then leaned across her desk to place her hand on his arm. "House, I know that there are lots of potential problems with having a relationship with you." House's mouth quirked at this statement. "But I promise that if we do start something, it will be with my eyes wide open. I know who you are. I know that you're an ass who likes to shock people out of their complacency. I would never expect you to change."

House put down the letter opener and took her hand into his. "Thanks," he said simply.

He spent the rest of the meal regaling her with tales about his most annoying clinic patients. He threw the containers away and put his coat back on as he prepared to head home. "Don't stay too late," he chided.

"Who's the mom now?" she asked. "Just one more report and then home to a nice hot shower."

House gave her a smirk. "Thanks for that mental image. I'm going to have good dreams tonight."

"Go home, House. You have clinic tomorrow."

House stuck his tongue out in reply and headed home. He was whistling a jaunty tune as he entered his apartment. The phone rang.

"Hello," he said.

"Greg …"

House's stomach clenched. "Stacy."

TBC

A/N2: Dum, dum, dum! Don't throw tomatoes at me. I swear Stacy will not be in the story for long. She's just a catalyst for House-angst. But not 'pining for Stacy-angst.' (shudders) I think we got enough of that on the show.

A/N3: One of the reasons that there was such a long time in between updates is that I decided to change the ending a bit. So the story will go on a little bit longer than I originally thought. Not too much longer, but I'm not going to give a number in case my muse has other ideas again.

Please review.


	14. Chapter 14

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: I only own them in my dreams.

A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I completely forgot to mention the last time how grateful I was to get over 200 reviews. If you think it's been too long between updates then you need to blame Prinnie. Her review sparked my muse and I had to tweak the story a bit. But you should also thank her because I think it makes for a more satisfying story. Unfortunately, there is no Cuddy in this chapter. But don't worry, she'll be back next time.

* * *

Chapter 14 

Previously on Rediscovery …

_He was whistling a jaunty tune as he entered his apartment. The phone rang._

"_Hello," he said._

"_Greg …"_

_House's stomach clenched. "Stacy."_

And now …

* * *

"I suppose you're wondering why I'm calling," she asked hesitantly.

"Yes," he said after a moment.

"I … I miss you," she whispered.

"Stacy-"

"No. Listen to me. I shouldn't have given up so easily. You were scared and so you pushed me away. I understand that now. I don't want to lose you again."

House closed his eyes and waited for … he wasn't sure exactly for what. But all he felt was a sad sort of nostalgia.

"Stacy, I'm sorry. I wasn't scared of starting a relationship. We just … we would have never worked out."

"Open your door and tell me that to my face."

House closed his eyes in annoyance and made his way to the door. He groaned when he opened the door and saw Stacy there with her cell phone to her ear. He reluctantly gestured for her to enter. This was not going to be pleasant.

"Can you honestly tell me that you don't want to be with me? Tell me that you don't ache for me the same way that I ache for you," she asked as she gently laid a hand on his arm.

House shrugged off her touch and stepped out of arm's reach. He sadly looked Stacy in the eye and said, "I don't want to be with you."

Stacy's eyes filled with tears as she shook her head, refusing to believe his words. "I don't accept that. You've spent the better part of the past few months trying to get back together. Those feelings just don't go away."

"I don't know what to tell you," he said. He didn't like doing this – even after everything. "We don't have a future together. So if you want to leave Mark, then leave him. But don't do anything with the expectation of being with me.

He looked down and studied the floor. "For what it's worth, I think that you should try and stick it out with him. Mark loves you, and you wouldn't have married him if you didn't love him. He's a nice guy, and he needs you now. Even if he is pushing you away."

Stacy looked at House carefully for a moment. "They were right, weren't they?" she asked softly.

"Right about what?"

"I shouldn't have left you after the infarction."

House sighed. "Stacy, you did what you wanted to do."

"I thought you wanted me to leave."

House chuckled humorlessly. "You tell yourself that, but it's a lie. You left because you wanted to leave. You were sick of feeling guilty every time you looked at me."

"You were treating me like crap! It was horrible! I never knew what I would be coming home to. Would it be 'Depressed Greg' who hadn't bothered getting dressed that morning? Or would it be 'Bitter Greg' who would make snide remarks all during dinner. And of course, there was my personal favorite, 'Angry Bastard Greg' who loved picking fights just so that he got to yell at me.

"My life had been drastically changed against my will," he said lowly. "And it felt like everyone was just telling me to get over it. Well it's not that easy!" His voice rose as he remembered the pain of her leaving. "I saw the looks you gave me when you had to do something for me. You didn't want to take care of the gimp anymore and so you left. Now you're doing the same thing to Mark. I guess it's nice to be the lesser of two cripples."

Stacy's eyes narrowed. "You son of a bitch," she said in a frustrated voice. "Do you know what your problem is?"

"I'm sure you're about to tell me."

"You love being miserable. I'm here wanting to make things right between us and you're pushing me away again."

"Stacy –"

"Greg, I know we've hurt each other –"

"Stacy – "

"But we can make it work."

"Stacy, I'm with someone else."

Her eyes widened in shock as she took a sharp intake of breath at his statement. She felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach.

"You're with someone else?" she asked when she could make her brain work again.

"Yes."

"In the few weeks that we've been apart, you've met someone new?"

House thought about lying, but decided against it. "I didn't say she was new."

Stacy's eyes widened again at that bit of information. "Not new… It's not Cameron," she mused to herself. "She's young and pretty, but she's really not your type." A bitter smile formed on her lips. "It's Lisa, isn't it?"

House merely nodded, not wanting to get into an argument about this.

His calm demeanor infuriated Stacy. It wasn't fair. He was standing there, cool as a cucumber and happy in a new relationship, while her life was falling apart. Anger welled up inside of her and she lashed out.

"So you finally convinced Cuddy to screw around with you?"

House glared at her. "You do the vindictive bitch thing really well. Cuddy and I aren't 'screwing around'."

"Really? So you think that she really wants to be in a long term relationship with someone like you?" Stacy scoffed.

"Stacy, don't do this."

"No, seriously. Do you really imagine that this little thing between you and Lisa could possibly end in a 'happily ever after', because let me tell you, that's not happening."

"Stacy –"

"Do you honestly think that she'll stay with you after the first time that you embarrass her in front of a major donor?"

"Cuddy has no illusions about who I am."

"Yes, but there's a difference between you being her colleague and you being her significant other. She'll drop you like a hot potato the first time you talk about your sex life in front of some sixty year old donor with a heart condition. And don't even pretend that's something that you wouldn't do."

"Cuddy accepts me."

"Please, it's all guilt."

"Excuse me?"

"Didn't you once say that guilt was Lisa's primary motivation? She was responsible for your leg just as much as I was. She's been keeping you employed all of these years out of guilt and now she's finally letting you screw her out of guilt."

"Get out," he said in a low angry voice.

"I'm right. You know I'm right," she said as she opened the door to leave. She turned around in the doorway and glared at House. "You're not PC enough for Cuddy. She's going realize that pretty quickly and kick your ass to the curb, and you're going to end up spending the rest of your life alone. Good luck with that."

House slammed the door in her face. He waited at the door until he could hear her walk away. He made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a scotch.

He was furious, but Stacy's words had triggered something in him. Not the 'guilt' shit. He knew Cuddy well enough to know that even her guilt had its limits, but having two people in one evening tell him that he and Cuddy wouldn't last was leaving him feeling uncharacteristically uncertain.

He'd been devastated when Stacy had left after the infarction. If Stacy and Wilson were both correct and he and Cuddy were doomed to fail …

He poured himself another scotch. The thought of going through that kind of pain again was frightening. Seeing Stacy had made him realize that, in many ways, he was already closer to Cuddy than he had ever been to Stacy – and they hadn't even started anything yet. If Cuddy managed to worm her way even deeper into his affections and she did end up leaving him, then he would have to go through all of that pain again.

He gulped down his drink, trying to make his brain stop working. Cuddy had just told him that evening that she didn't expect him to change. She knew he was an ass. He needed to focus on that.

"_Yes, but knowing you and actually being in a real relationship with you are two entirely different things," _Stacy's voice said in his head.

"Shut up," he whispered.

"_Do you really think that she can be an effective boss with her boyfriend undermining her authority at every turn? And face it, if she has to choose between you and the job, she's going to choose the job."_

House gulped the scotch down and stared that the phone. He thought about calling Cuddy, but decided against it. It was late, and he was drunk. He was afraid that he wouldn't have the self control to stop himself from saying something completely stupid.

He slowly made his way to the piano and sat down at the bench and began to play, hoping that he would be able to lose himself in the music. At least for a little while.

TBC

A/N2: To all those who've asked about smut. Let's just say that I have no plans to change my rating anytime soon. Now that doesn't mean that there will be no RST. I just don't plan on using the word 'thrust' anywhere in this fic. Sorry to disappoint.


	15. Chapter 15

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine. I'm just borrowing.

A/N: I am so sorry for the long time between updates. I wish I could promise to do better, but RL has gotten crazy. I do promise that, barring some fatal accident, I will finish this fic. So don't worry about that. I have been reading fanfic for the better part of a decade and I know the pain of getting hooked on an unfinished story. I would not do that to you guys.

Chapter 15

Cuddy concentrated on the paperwork in front of her. At times like this she wondered why she ever wanted to become an administrator in the first place. She felt like she spent half of her life doing paperwork and the other half kissing some rich donor's ass to bring in money for the hospital. That's why she made it a point of doing clinic duty at least once a week. Cuddy, despite what House said, never wanted to be one of those hospital administrators who forgot that patient care was their ultimate priority.

She frowned as her thoughts turned towards House. She hadn't seen him, except in passing, for the past few days. He had a patient, but he usually came to her office at least once during a case to make some sort of impossible demand.

She sighed and tried to push down the nagging feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't unusual for House to lose himself in a case. And she, of all people, couldn't fault him with working long hours. There had been no reports of bad behavior on his part. But still … something felt off.

Cuddy shook herself out of her reverie and concentrated once again on the paperwork in front of her.

A little while later she heard a knock at her door. She raised her head to see Cameron enter her office with an uncertain expression on her face.

"Dr. Cameron, is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

"Our patient has Pericardial Mesothelioma."

Cuddy raised her eyebrow. Pericardial Mesothelioma was a rare form of the cancer that did not have a good prognosis for the patient, but she didn't understand why Cameron was here telling her this in person.

"Sandoval in Los Angeles has a clinical study going that our patient should qualify for, but …"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. She could see where this was going. "Except that Sandoval is a self-righteous bastard who hates both Wilson and House with a fiery passion and would probably refuse your patient if the request came from either of their offices." Dr. Sandoval's dislike of both doctors was well known. His animosity towards House was no big mystery, but most people didn't know that after Wilson's last divorce, he had flirted a little too openly with Sandoval's wife at a conference they were both attending.

Cameron gave a little smile and nodded her head. Cuddy tried to smile back, but something was bothering her.

"Why did House send you to ask me, instead of coming himself?" she asked as she concentrated on projecting only mild curiosity.

"I don't know," she answered. "He just told me to schmooze you into schmoozing Sandoval."

Cuddy sighed. "Tell House that I'll contact Dr. Sandoval, and I should have an answer for him by this afternoon."

Cameron continued to stand by the desk.

"Is there something else?" Cuddy asked.

"He's … crabbier than normal," she said hesitantly.

"I haven't heard any complaints"

"That's what's weird about it. He's been much nicer than normal to the patients – even the really stupid ones, but he's been taking whatever's bothering him out on us. I think Foreman's about ready to take his big thinking ball and shove it into House's mouth.

Cuddy couldn't help but give a soft chuckle as she visualized that scenario. She looked up into Cameron's face and could see the concern for House there.

"Do you have any guesses as to what's bothering him?" Cuddy asked the younger doctor.

"No, but I have noticed that it seems as if he's avoiding you and Wilson. I thought perhaps that you knew what was going on with him."

Cuddy inhaled deeply as she tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat.

"I'm sorry. I don't. Keep me informed if you find out anything," she told Cameron quietly. Cameron nodded and turned to leave the office.

Cuddy waited until she closed the door before allowing herself to slump in her chair. Something was definitely up with House. Normally he would have come to her office personally to ask her to talk to Sandoval. That, coupled with the fact that he was going out of his way to be nice to patients, meant that he was avoiding her for some reason. She could feel herself getting angry and embraced the emotion. She liked the anger better than the hurt.

* * *

House sat at his piano, staring at the keys as he contemplated what was going to happen next with Cuddy. He would be the first to admit that he had not handled the past couple of days very well. The day after Stacy had come to see him, he had gotten a case and threw himself into it to avoid thinking about Cuddy. Unfortunately, thoughts of her would creep up at unexpected times, which made him angrier. He had done quite well with being colleagues with her for the better part of six years. It didn't seem fair that she had infiltrated his life so much so quickly. He took a sip of the scotch that was sitting on top of the piano.

He didn't want to see her. Seeing her would mean that he would have to confront these dark feelings that were floating around inside of him. But he knew that he couldn't avoid her forever. He had half-expected her to follow Cameron back to his office this morning to demand answers. He wasn't sure if he was happy or disappointed that she hadn't.

House ran his hand through his hair in frustration. This is why he avoided emotional entanglements like most people avoided the plague. He had a difficult time making decisions when he cared this much about the outcome.

He finished his drink in one gulp and eyed the empty glass as he contemplated getting another. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

He sighed and got up to answer. He looked through the peephole and was not at all surprised to see Cuddy there with a determined look on her face.

"I know you're home House, so don't even try pretending that you're not," he heard her threaten.

He opened the door and gestured for her to enter. He closed the door and turned around to see her glaring at him.

"What the hell is going on with you?" she asked angrily.

"Could you be more specific?" he asked.

Cuddy's glare became more intense, and House had to fight the urge to smile, despite the serious situation.

"I know you're avoiding me."

House looked down at the floor to escape her gaze. He didn't know why he was surprised when she came out and confronted him right away. She had always preferred the direct approach.

"I notice you're not denying it," Cuddy said sarcastically as it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything. She closed her eyes and took a moment to get control of her emotions.

House waited a moment before replying. "What do you want me to say?" he finally asked.

"House, I just want to know what the hell's been going with you. You send Cameron in to ask me something instead of coming yourself, and then you're being nice to patients so that I don't have to talk to you about inappropriate behavior." She stopped and stared at his still down turned head. "If you've changed your mind about having a relationship, then I wish you'd just tell me. I don't like being stuck in limbo anymore than you do," she told him in a strained voice.

"Stacy came to see me the other night."

Cuddy opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Out of all of the things that she thought he would say, that little statement was nowhere on the list. A sickening feeling began to claw its way out of her stomach.

"What did she want?" she asked when she regained her voice.

"Me."

Cuddy inhaled sharply, unprepared for the stab of pain his statement caused even though she wasn't surprised by his answer. She looked away quickly as she scrambled for control of her seesawing emotions. This was her darkest fear come to life: House deciding that he wanted to be with Stacy after all.

"Ok, see. That's all you needed to say," her voice a little thin. "I'll just go now," she headed for the door, determined not to make a scene in front of him.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on … you didn't let me finish," House said as he gently grabbed her arm and led her to the couch to sit. He placed his elbows on his knees and cradled his face in his hands. "I didn't say that I wanted her. She came here wanting to make up. I said no. She lost her temper and started yelling at me."

Cuddy watched him carefully, trying to figure out what he was feeling. "What does this have to do with you avoiding me for the past few days," she finally asked.

"I told her about us and she got really bitchy. She started talking about how you couldn't afford to be involved with someone as non-PC as me and …" he trailed off, reluctant to talk about how Stacy's tirade had made him feel.

Cuddy saw House's pain and without thinking about it reached out to stroke his arm in support. He smiled at the gesture and managed to meet her gaze.

"Cuddy, I want to be with you. I'm just not sure in a few months down the road that you're going to want to be with me."

"Greg …"

"Cuddy, you saw me after Stacy left. I don't want to go through something like that again." He looked down and studied his shoes as he continued. "I can't start something with you if Stacy and Wilson are right and it's doomed to fail. I don't know if I can let myself be open to that kind of hurt again."

She watched his uncertainty and wished that there was something that she could do, but she knew him well enough to know that this was something that he would have to work out for himself. "House, I can't offer you any guarantees. I'm scared too. I wish I could read the future and tell you what's in store for us. You're going to have to decide for yourself if it's worth the risk." She smiled sadly at him and reached out to lightly stroke his face. "I want to be with you too," she admitted. "I was going to tell you that I didn't need the full two months to make my decision."

House's eyes widened at that admission, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts," she told him after a few moments of silence. He followed her as she got up and headed towards the door and opened it to leave. She paused for a moment and turned around to capture his gaze with her own. "For what it's worth, please remember that we've known each other for a very long time. I know who you are. I expect you to be an ass in front of colleagues and donors. I harbor no illusions that I will transform you into some sort of Prince Charming. I don't think that you're going to scare me away by being you." She stood on her toes and gently kissed him on the lips and left.

House stared at the door for a moment after she left and then went to the kitchen to pour himself another scotch. It was going to be another long night.

* * *

Cuddy sat up and fluffed her pillow once more to try and make it more comfortable. She couldn't sleep. Her thoughts were filled of House and their discussion. It wasn't fair. She wasn't going to let him give up without a fight, but with House and his emotions you had to be very careful. One wrong move and you could force him into an even deeper isolation.

She cursed Stacy and her comments for the thousandth time. What right did she have in telling House what Cuddy would expect out of a relationship? Hell, what right did she have in telling House that she wanted to get back together when she was still married and living with her husband? Cuddy forced herself to unclench her jaw. Stacy had once again thoughtlessly pushed Greg through an emotional wringer and left someone else to pick up the pieces.

Cuddy got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. Her mind was too active to get any kind of sleep. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the milk and then went to the cupboard and pulled out the peanut butter and a loaf of bread. She needed comfort food. She made herself a sandwich and sat down to eat it.

There wasn't anything she could really do about House right now. He was still thinking things over. It wasn't good to interrupt him in the middle of his thought processes.

Cuddy found herself thinking about Stacy more and more. She got up and went to her laptop and turned it on. She quickly got on the internet and found directions from her house to Stacy's and printed them out. She went back to the kitchen and stared at the directions as she finished her sandwich. A part of her brain was screaming that this was a bad idea, but she had been wanting to tell Stacy certain things for a long time, and now seemed like the perfect time to do so.

She mentally reviewed her schedule for tomorrow and realized that she didn't have anything that couldn't be rescheduled. Cuddy smiled to herself. She was going to do something that she hadn't done in a long time. She was going to play hooky from work and go visit an 'old friend.'

TBC

A/N2: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. They make my day.


	16. Chapter 16

Rediscovery

By Ellie J

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue. I don't have that much money anyways.

Chapter 16

Cuddy wasn't quite as angry when she awoke the next morning as she'd been after leaving House's place, but she was still angry enough to follow through on her decision to visit Stacy. She smirked at the shocked noise her assistant had made over the phone when she had called to say that she wouldn't be in for the day.

She had stopped for breakfast at a local coffee place before heading out to Short Hills. It had taken a couple of hours to get there. She found herself circling Stacy's neighborhood as she tried to figure out what she exactly wanted to say. Cuddy was beginning to wonder if she was doing the right thing by coming to talk to Stacy. House certainly wouldn't appreciate her coming to 'defend' him. (Although she could easily imagine him making some sort of bikini mud wrestling comment).

But this wasn't just about Stacy hurting House – although that was definitely part of it. Stacy was making assumptions about what she expected from a relationship and projecting those assumptions onto House. That was something she could not tolerate. Cuddy exhaled sharply as she reaffirmed her decision to talk to Stacy. Of course she still had no idea what she was going to say to her when she saw her. Hell, she didn't even know if she was home. Cuddy decided to just bite the bullet and go to Stacy's house and see what happened. House, Cuddy thought to herself, was starting to rub off on her.

She pulled up to large two-story house and saw Stacy's car in the driveway. Cuddy made her way to the front door and rang the doorbell as she said a quick prayer that Mark wasn't home. A few moments later the door opened.

Stacy couldn't hide her shocked expression at seeing Cuddy at her door. They quietly stared at one another for a moment before Stacy opened up the door all of the way and let her in.

"Is Mark here?" Cuddy asked as Stacy closed the door.

"No, he's got physical therapy this morning."

"Good. He shouldn't have to hear this."

Stacy sighed and gestured for Cuddy to follow her into the kitchen. "I assume that this is about Greg."

"Yes," Cuddy said evenly. "You need to stay away from him."

Stacy chuckled snidely. "Are you afraid of some competition now that you've finally bagged Greg after all of these years?"

Cuddy tightened her lips as she ignored the jibe. "I'm not here to fight over him with you. I'm here to tell you that you need to stop hurting him and stop making him doubt himself." Cuddy's voice rose as she continued. "You can't keep on doing this to him, Stacy. You made your choice when you left him. You have got to allow him to move on with his life so that he can find some measure of peace."

Stacy was silent, but Cuddy could see that she was angry at her words. Cuddy could feel her own anger rising again. What right did Stacy have to be angry? "By the way," Cuddy told her, "no one is bagging anyone else at this time."

"But Greg told me –"

"We're taking things slowly. We're both aware of the difficulties of a relationship between us, and we don't want to screw things up by jumping into something too quickly."

Stacy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Cuddy allowed herself a moment to enjoy Stacy's discomfort before going on.

"I'm not only here because of Greg. I'm here because of what you said about me. You have absolutely no right to tell House what you think I want or need from a relationship. You don't know me that well," she said heatedly.

Stacy bristled under Cuddy's glare. "I know you well enough. I know that you've worked very hard to get where you're at in your career, Lisa. I also know that Greg consorting with hospital bigwigs is a disaster waiting to happen. One or both of you are going to lose your jobs over this."

"No we aren't. It will be complicated, but not impossible."

"Yeah, I'm sure that the Board will see it that way," Stacy said sarcastically.

"I am damn good at my job," Cuddy told her in a low voice. "And House is the best at his job. As long as neither one of those things change, then the Board will have no reason to fire either one of us, and neither one of those things are going to change anytime soon."

"Come see me in six months when he's interrupted a meeting with some important donor to ask you about the rash on your private parts that he noticed that morning."

Cuddy looked at Stacy disbelievingly and began to laugh. "He did that three years ago, and the hospital is still running and both of us still have our jobs." She paused to examine the other woman's expression. "Stacy, you make it seem like I don't know what I'm getting into by starting something with House. I've known him longer than you have. I know what he's like. It doesn't scare or bother me. I know he's not going to stop being an ass because we're together. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would hate it if he did."

Stacy looked away. "I would hate it if he stopped being an ass too," she said as she impatiently wiped away the tears that had begun to fall. "I love him, and I'm just supposed to let him go without saying anything?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Cuddy replied just as softly, "because I really think he'll be happier with me."

Stacy met Cuddy's gaze. "You're so sure about that?" she asked, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"Yes. Stacy, I'm not saying that you and House didn't love each other, but sometimes that's not enough to tie two people together. You know House pretty well – better than most -- but you really don't 'get' him when it comes to the big things."

"And you 'get' everything about him, I suppose?" she asked angrily.

Cuddy chuckled wryly. "I don't even think House 'gets' himself completely. But … I do think that I understand him better than you do."

Stacy looked at Cuddy speculatively. "Tell me, what would you do if Greg came up and told you that he would be happier with me after all?"

Cuddy forced herself to ignore the jab of pain that Stacy caused with her suggestion and thought carefully about her answer. After a few moments she looked up and said, "If I thought that he would be happier with you -- and he would have to really convince me of that -- then I hope that I would let him go."

"You would?"

Cuddy shook her head. "He's been so miserable for so long and I care enough about him that I want him to be able to grab onto any happiness that he can find. I'm not saying that it wouldn't hurt like hell, but I want to see him happy."

Stacy looked away from Cuddy and gazed out the back window of the kitchen. "That's not the relationship that Greg and I had. Not really. We spent most of our time together trying to verbally outdo the other with fabulous sex thrown into the mix. Don't get me wrong. There were moments of tenderness, but that's not what our relationship was based on."

Stacy stopped as she realized that she was sharing more than she wanted to. She summoned all of her control and forced herself to look at Cuddy.

"Are you finished?" Stacy asked. "Don't worry. I promise to leave Greg alone from now on," she said matter-of-factly.

Cuddy could see that Stacy was in pain, but didn't want to break down in front of her. She picked up her purse and headed for the front door. Stacy followed. Cuddy turned before she left.

"I know that what's going on between you and Mark is none of my business."

"That's right, it's not," Stacy said tightly.

"But I'm going to say something anyways. If you truly don't want to be with Mark anymore, then leave him. You're not doing him any favors by staying and keeping him in some kind of limbo. But if there is any part of you that wants to work things out, then you owe it to yourself to try. I know that you love Mark. I know that things are rough right now, but he does love you, and he does want to work things out with you. He just doesn't know how."

"So now you know my husband better than I do?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not me. That's House's opinion, and he would be the first to tell you that he's almost always right." Cuddy turned around and left before Stacy could respond.

Cuddy smiled as she got into her car. She felt good. In some odd way, coming here and talking to Stacy had alleviated Cuddy's own remaining doubts about House's feelings for them both. She felt confident that if House could get over his abandonment issues, that they really could make a go of it. She sighed to herself. _If_ he got over his abandonment issues.

She looked at the clock in her car. It wasn't late, and there was plenty of time to go to work if she really wanted to. But, she admitted to herself, she didn't want to go in. It was a beautiful early spring day and her garden needed to be prepared for planting. She loved gardening and didn't often get a chance to do it herself. She decided to stop worrying about House, at least for now, and enjoy the good weather.

* * *

House glanced towards Cuddy's office as he entered the hospital. It was darkened. She was probably at one of the million meetings that she seemed to have each day. He still hadn't come to any solid conclusions about what to do with their relationship, but he had to admit to himself that he felt a little better after talking to her. It had been a relief that she hadn't gotten all emotional, and he was glad that she knew him well enough to give him the space he needed to figure things out. 

He entered the elevator and pushed the button for his floor. An arm got between the closing doors and they opened back up again. House silently groaned to see Wilson standing there with a smug expression on his face. House had been diligently avoiding him for the past few days. He needed time to think and he didn't want to deal with Wilson's invariable 'I told you sos!' or his pop psychology shtick.

"You're late," Wilson said as he entered the elevator.

"You're wearing an ugly tie," House replied as he gestured the blue monstrosity that Wilson was wearing.

"Actually, I'm surprised to see you here at all. I assumed when Cuddy called in to say that she wasn't coming in that she had finally succumbed to your lecherous advances and you guys were having hot sweaty sex all over your house."

House scowled at Wilson. "What do you mean Cuddy's not here today?"

Wilson raised an eyebrow, surprised that House didn't already know this bit of information. "It's true. The woman who worked a half-day with a 101 degree fever called in and said that she wouldn't be in."

"Hmmm… she must have had a horrible bikini waxing accident," House said sarcastically, even as he digested this information. Where could Cuddy be? Wilson watched him carefully.

"You two had a fight," Wilson accused.

"We didn't have a fight," House responded, annoyed.

"It all makes sense now. You've been avoiding me for the past few days and you've been cranky with your staff."

"Cranky?" House asked in an offended voice. "I'm not a three year old in need of a nap." Wilson snorted. "And I haven't been 'cranky' with my staff."

"Oh please," Wilson said disbelievingly. "Foreman is plotting your demise as we speak. Cameron is about ready to stage an intervention on your behalf, and Chase pees his pants every time you glance in his direction."

"Chase would pee his pants if a Girl Scout looked at him cross-eyed."

The elevator doors opened and they stopped talking. House rolled his eyes as he realized that Wilson was following him to his office. He opened the door and closed it right in Wilson's face. Wilson scowled as he entered the office.

"Real mature."

House stuck out his tongue.

"Well if you didn't fight, then what happened?"

House groaned. At times like these he wondered why he was friends with Wilson. "You know, guys really aren't supposed to ask each other these kinds of questions," he said, avoiding the question.

"I can't believe you've already screwed this up."

"I haven't screwed anything up. It's none of your business."

Wilson studied House for a moment before replying. "You're scared. The emotional risks of being in a relationship with Cuddy finally hit you, and now you're trying to go back before you make some sort of irreparable mistake."

"I'm so glad that you're here to tell me how I feel," House said as he unsuccessfully tried to control his temper.

"You need to find Cuddy and fix whatever happened between you."

"Wow. You really need to make up your mind about who I should be with. First you don't want me with Stacy and then you want me with Stacy. Then you don't want me with Cuddy and now you're pushing me at her. I think you're the one with the commitment issues. Oh wait. How many times have you been divorced?"

"We aren't talking about me. We're talking about your commitment issues and fear of intimacy. You can't shut Cuddy out as easily as you can other people. She knows you pretty well and she's just as stubborn as you are."

"Maybe we're too much alike to be in a relationship. Maybe I decided that I didn't want to deal with her bossiness all of the time," House said, desperately wanting this conversation to end.

"Are you telling me that you wouldn't have any regrets if you and Cuddy didn't get together?"

House looked away for a moment and then back at Wilson. "What's one more regret?" he asked with a humorless smile. "If you'll excuse me, since Mistress Lisa isn't in to supervise me today, I have some major loafing time to catch up on." House picked up his PSP and iPod and left the office. Wilson did not follow. He didn't buy for one moment that House would be okay if he and Cuddy didn't work things out, but he needed to find some way to get House to admit that to himself.

He sat down at House's desk to think. An evil smile appeared on his face as a plan formed in his mind. It was sneaky, underhanded and even a little cruel, but it would definitely force House to come to terms with his feelings. The only thing he needed now was a co-conspirator.

TBC

A/N1: I had some reviews from people who thought that House was talking about his emotions too much, and I just wanted to defend myself a little. Cuddy is one of the few people that House will let see him be vulnerable --as in 'Skin Deep'. Plus, I believe that House showed that he was willing to talk about emotions when he was alone with Stacy. Taking those things together I thought that House might open up a bit more to Cuddy than he would to other people. And since 99 percent of House's interactions in this fic are with Cuddy he comes off as being a little OOC. And I admit that. I tried to show the difference a bit in this chapter.

A/N2: I also hope that no one was too disappointed in Cuddy and Stacy's confrontation. As amusing as it is to think about, I just don't think Cuddy would really go and kick Stacy's ass.

Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! They definitely spurred me to write. I couldn't believe how many I got for the last chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue. I have no money.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I got a virus on my computer and then work became hectic. I wish I could say that the next update would be soon, but I'm leaving town for the next 10 days for my best friend's wedding, and I doubt I'll get much, if any, writing done.

"Dr. Cameron," Wilson called out to the young physician as she walked down the hallway. She turned at Wilson's voice. "Can I see you in my office for a moment?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied and followed him down the hall to his office. She sat down in one of the chairs across from his desk and waited for him to start.

Wilson stared at Cameron as he had second thoughts (actually, more like sixth and seventh thoughts) about his decision to ask her to help him with House and Cuddy. Unfortunately, his choices for people willing to help House were very limited. Foreman was angry at House and would refuse to do this, saying it was none of his business. He might have been able to convince Chase to do it, but Chase was a crappy liar. This job required someone who cared about House's wellbeing, but could effectively (at least for a short period of time) lie to him.

Cameron cared about House. Wilson was pretty sure she was over her little crush -- at least he hoped that she was – so there shouldn't be any jealousy problems. And he was pretty sure that she would be able to fool House. He just wasn't sure if he would be able to talk her into helping him with his plan.

"Dr. Wilson …" Cameron interrupted his thoughts and he realized that he had spaced out for a bit. He chuckled a little self-consciously before he began.

"I … need your help with something," he said.

"With House?" she asked expectantly.

"Yes," he said slowly.

"Good. I've been worried about him, but I wasn't sure what to do. Cuddy didn't seem to know what was going on with him when I asked her yesterday. I assume you know what's bothering him."

Wilson looked away and nodded. "Yes. I know. He's … in love."

Cameron opened her mouth, but no sound escaped. "What?" she finally asked after several moments of shocked silence.

"Well if he's not in love, then he's very close to falling in love and it's freaking him out."

Cameron still hadn't gotten past Wilson's first statement. "House is in love? With who?"

Wilson sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "You cannot tell anyone else. It's Cuddy."

"Cuddy?" she yelped in disbelief. "They … they hate each other. I don't think I've ever seen them have one nice conversation. He's always talking about her breasts and she's always making comments about his leg. They can't be in a relationship."

"Fighting is the mating call of the snarky," Wilson said in his best wise voice. "Cameron, House and Cuddy have known each other for a very long time. They've always fought like this. That's how their friendship works. It's when they're being icily polite to one another that you've got to watch out." Wilson watched as Cameron digested this information. It was shocking, to say the least, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. After a few moments, she nodded in acceptance and met Wilson's gaze.

"How do you need my help?" she asked, puzzled.

"They haven't really started anything yet. They're in the pre-stages of starting something. They're being cautious because of the possible complications.

"The Board."

"Among other things," he replied. "But House convinced me that they had really thought this thing out, and she is one of the few people I can think of who really knows him and doesn't want to change him." Cameron looked away for a moment, her cheeks reddening. Wilson realized his faux-pas.

"I didn't mean anything …"

"No, you're right. I'm a fixer, and House is just about one of the most broken people I've ever met. I wanted to be the one to help put him back together again."

"That's part of who he is," Wilson replied. "I won't say that he enjoys being broken, but he doesn't really want to do anything about it." He knew that House found Cameron attractive and was flattered by her attention. But he also knew that House, who had spent his life failing to meet his father's expectations, would rather poke his eyes out then be with someone who was constantly disappointed in him. "Anyways," he continued, "something spooked him. I don't know what. He's remembering what it was like to … be open to someone else like that and the pain that happens when it goes wrong."

Wilson paused to consider his words. He didn't want to violate House's privacy too much, but he had to explain enough to get Cameron's assistance.

"He's half-decided that the status quo is better than risking the pain of another failed relationship."

"I don't understand how you think I can help," Cameron said. "He won't listen to me if I try and talk to him."

"No," Wilson agreed. "We need to … uh … make him realize that the status quo isn't good enough."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

Wilson took a deep breath. Now came the hard part.

* * *

House was in an observation room above an empty OR. It was nice and quiet and usually an excellent place to zone out while playing video games, but he was having a difficult time concentrating today. Unwelcome thoughts kept on intruding. Thoughts about Cuddy. Thoughts about Stacy. Thoughts about risk. He finally put the game down and rubbed his eyes as he chuckled darkly to himself. He had this gigantic reputation as a risk taker and a mean son of a bitch who didn't care about his patients. What most people didn't understand that the latter was necessary for the former to occur. If he cared about something or someone too much, he became indecisive. He thought too much about the possible negative consequences and usually wanted to take the safer approach.

In this case, the safer alternative was to stop things with Cuddy before they went any further. She would understand. This was why she insisted on the grace period in the first place. It would be awkward at first, of course, but he knew that they could go back to just being banter buddies. But he really, really didn't want to do that. Of course he really, really didn't want to go through what he went through when Stacy left again, either. He wished that all of his gifts would give him a glimpse of the future. Just a hint to let him know what the correct decision would be.

He heard the door open behind him and he quickly picked up his game again. He didn't want to be caught brooding – especially if it were Wilson.

But the light footsteps behind them belonged to a woman. He turned to see Cameron approaching him with a concerned look on her face. He shut his eyes in dread. She was going to try and get him to talk about his feelings. What was with everybody today?

He opened his eyes when she stopped next to him and he looked up with a reproachful comment on the tip of his lips. Her expression made him stop. She looked … nervous and upset.

"Did you need something?" he asked when she didn't say anything. She took a deep breath.

"Cuddy's been brought into the ER. She was in a car accident. It's pretty bad," she said quietly.

House could feel all of the blood drain from his face as a gigantic knot of panic formed in his stomach. His brain stopped working. He could hear his heart thudding. He thought he heard Cameron continue to speak, but he couldn't be sure. All he could think about was the fact that Cuddy was hurt. He imagined her broken body lying in a hospital bed as doctors frantically worked around her. He got up and pushed his way past Cameron, ignoring her calling to him as he walked as fast as he could to the elevator, cursing his leg the entire way.

He finally made it to the elevator and repeatedly pressed the down button as he glared at the stairwell door which seemed to be mocking him. He was about ready to beat the elevator doors with his cane out of frustration when they finally opened up. He got in and hit the correct button and waited.

The relatively short ride seemed to take forever. He focused briefly on the music playing in the elevator. It was crap. He would have to get Cuddy to … He could feel his hand tremble as it tightly gripped his cane.

He had been right. Her leaving his life was worse than anything he had ever felt before. But he had never imagined her leaving like this. She was so indomitable. So … in control that is seemed absurd that something as mundane as a car accident could take her away from him.

House swallowed with difficulty as he realized just how much he wanted Cuddy in his life. How much he needed to see her eyes light up with humor when he entered the room. How much he needed her to fight with him.

He bit the inside of his cheek to help him maintain control as the elevator finally made it to the ER. He rushed out of the elevator and almost ran into Wilson. He pushed past him, but Wilson grabbed onto his arm to prevent him from going on. House turned to Wilson, desperately afraid of what he would see in his face.

"'What's one more regret?' Wilson said, repeating House's own words from earlier in a slightly mocking tone.

House stared at Wilson in confusion for a moment before the truth came crashing down on him. Cuddy wasn't hurt. This was Wilson's sick and twisted way of getting him to confront his feelings. His fear quickly turned into anger.

"You son of a bitch," he hissed as he lifted his cane and hit Wilson – hard – in the stomach. He doubled over in pain as House walked away.

Wilson struggled to catch his breath, ignoring the looks from the other people in the hallway. He couldn't say that he was surprised that House had hit him, but he had been hoping for a punch that he could have avoided a little easier.

Once Wilson had recovered, he set off in search of House. He finally found him on their shared balcony.

House was looking out onto the world as he took deep breaths to calm his still racing heart. He heard Wilson approach from behind and he turned to give him a withering glare.

"I'm still pissed, so approach at your own risk."

"Thanks for the warning," Wilson said as he came up to House and stood next to him.

"You had no right," House began.

"No, I didn't," Wilson agreed. "But it's what you needed to help clarify your thoughts."

"It was cruel and evil –"

"I learn from the best --"

"And how did you convince Cameron to cooperate?"

"That did do some taking, but eventually the idea of helping true love to find its way won her over."

"Oh God, I'm going to have to kill you just for putting that thought in her mind. You may have undone months of Cynicism Therapy," House replied. They were both silent as they watched over the hospital grounds.

"So," Wilson said after a while, "are we okay?"

House sighed. "Yeah,"

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Go find Cuddy and screw like rabbits."

"Wow. That's so touching. No wonder she wants to be with you."

"What can I say? I'm just that charming."

Wilson chuckled and turned to meet House's amused gaze. They both turned to head back indoors.

TBC

A/N2: We are almost done people. It's been an awesome journey. Thanks for the 300+ reviews. Please keep on reviewing.


	18. Chapter 18

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue. I have nothing except a car that's currently leaking power steering fluid. grumble grumble

A/N1: I just want to apologize for any inconvenience or annoyance that I may have caused by removing this chapter. Most of you would probably consider it a silly reason, but it was something that I had to do for my own peace of mind.

Chapter 18

Cuddy walked through the doors that led from the garden to her bedroom. She stripped off her clothes, put on her robe, and stepped into the master bath. It had been renovated a few months back, but she rarely ever got the chance to enjoy the improvements.

With a smile, she turned on the water in her Jacuzzi bathtub. She pinned up her hair and climbed into the tub to enjoy a nice long soak. Cuddy felt that she deserved it. She was proud of how she had handled the discussion with Stacy. It had been polite and dignified, but she managed to get her point across. She just hoped Stacy listened and stopped bothering House because she couldn't guarantee that things would go so well a second time.

Her gaze made its way to the telephone next to the tub. Cuddy had it installed during the renovation after a woman who lived alone, had few friends, and had fallen in her bathroom had been admitted to the hospital. After eight hours of just lying on her bathroom floor, she managed to crawl to the next room and call for an ambulance on her own. She had told Cuddy that she didn't know how long it would have taken for someone to care that she was missing. Cuddy had called that day to have a phone line added to the bathroom.

It was only in the past year that she realized how isolated from other people she had become. She had somehow lost herself in the Dean of Medicine. She had made half-hearted attempts at dating, but no one really interested her. Things had been different the past few weeks, though. She had managed to let loose a little and she really liked it. And she had House to thank for the changes.

Cuddy didn't want to go back to that workaholic woman who had no life. She didn't want to retire and realize that without her job, she had nothing. At the same time, she loved her job and didn't want to give it up. With House (except for the possible Board hurdle) she didn't have to compromise who she was. He may make fun of her overachieving tendencies, but he understood and respected them. He wouldn't be upset if she spent late evenings at the office or if she got called in unexpectedly for some crisis. Although, chances were he would have caused the crisis in the first place.

She wondered what House had done when he realized she hadn't come into work today. Had he been relieved? Disappointed? Worried?

The phone rang and shook her out of her reverie. She picked up the handset and checked the Caller ID box. It was House. A smile found its way to her lips.

"Please tell me that you didn't burn down the hospital while I was gone today," she said in her best administrator voice as she answered the phone.

"Not for lack of trying. Why is the hospital so flame retardant?"

"Lots of planning," she replied. He sounded relaxed. That was definitely a good sign.

"What are you doing?" he asked

"Taking a bath," she said as she leaned back and closed her eyes with a small smile.

"A bath?" he asked, surprised. "You don't have a bathtub."

"Yes, I do," she told him. "I remodeled my bathroom."

"When?" he asked, sounding almost offended.

"A few months ago. It was before the blizzard."

"How did I not know that? I can't believe I've missed out on months of fantasy material. You in your tub all soapy and wet …" his voice trailed off happily and Cuddy rolled her eyes even as she smiled at his words.

"Did you have a reason for calling me?" she asked.

"Ummm… yeah," he said as he gathered his thoughts. "Where did you go today?" he asked

She stiffened in her bath, but forced herself to relax and tell him the truth. "I went to see Stacy," she said simply.

She could hear his shocked silence, and she quickly wished she would have waited to tell him in person.

"Why?" he finally asked.

"There were things that she needed to be told. Things that I needed her to know."

"About me?"

"Some of it." House was silent. And she pressed on. "I needed to tell her that she was wrong about me. That she was wrong about how I see a relationship between the two of us. I needed her to know that she just couldn't come back into your life anymore, hurt you, and then leave without anyone calling her on it. I wanted her to know that I'm here because I choose to be here and that I have no intention of going anywhere."

He was again silent and she could almost hear the wheels in his head turning.

"Just promise me I didn't miss any Dynasty in the swimming pool style catfights. I think the regret would be too much for me to live with," he said in an oddly relieved voice.

"You didn't miss anything. It was very civil."

"Not even one slap?" he asked in a slightly disappointed voice.

"If she ever does anything like that ever again, I promise to kick her ass from here until next Tuesday and let you have front row seats."

She could hear a happy sigh come through the receiver. "Maybe I'll give her a call tomorrow to come and insult our relationship some more."

"I may have to hurt you then."

"That could be fun too," he said happily. He then paused for a moment. "We have to talk."

Cuddy felt a shiver of anticipation crawl up her spine.

"What about?"

"Well first you have to crawl out of your bath and change into something a bit more comfortable." He paused for a moment and Cuddy heard some rustling in the background. "Wow. My vote is for this black lacy number," he said. Cuddy sat up sharply in the bath and looked at her closed bathroom door. She could hear the sounds of drawers opening and closing in her bedroom.

"House," she said angrily as she got out of her bath and struggled with her robe, "stop going through my drawers this instance or you're going to lose some fingers!"

He chuckled lightly into the phone. "It might be worth it," he said.

She hung up and jerked the door open. He was sitting on her bed with most of her underwear laid out before him and a black lace teddy in his hands.

"You have issues! You realize that, don't you!" she growled as she started to pick up the mess he had made.

"Yes, but you love me anyways," he told her matter-of-factly.

Cuddy stopped breathing. She dropped the underwear from her suddenly nerveless fingers and tried to swallow. She forced herself to meet his eyes and felt marginally better to see that he was just as uncertain as she was.

"What?" she finally asked.

"You love me," he repeated softly. "I'm an inconsiderate ass who makes a habit of violating your privacy, and yet you want to be in a relationship with me. You're either in love or a masochist. And since you prefer to inflict the pain …"

Cuddy said nothing as she tried to figure out where House was going with this.

"You," he continued, "are a bossy, stubborn, workaholic busybody. And yet, I want to be with you."

Cuddy exhaled sharply and she could feel the pinpricks of tears form in the back of her eyes. House looked down and fingered her bedspread. "I'll never be Johnny Sunshine. But you make my life better. And I don't want to give that up."

She lost the battle with the tears and sat down next to him on her bed. He gently drew her into his arms and just held her like that for a moment, enjoying the feel of her small body next to his.

"You better be committing this moment to your long term memory," he told her, "because I will never say anything like this again after this evening."

Cuddy laughed through the tears and sat up. "I know," she told him warmly as she reached to caress his cheek. He held her hand there and just gazed at her. Cuddy leaned closer to House and met his lips in a passionate kiss.

She pulled back to catch her breath and he gave her an uncertain smile. "I have a surprise for you," he said. "I think I've thought of a way to fix things with the Board."

She raised her eyebrow and waited for him to continue. He was obviously nervous and that intrigued her. He took a deep breath and handed her a sheet of paper. It was a confirmation for two tickets on the red eye flight from Newark to Las Vegas later that evening. Cuddy stopped breathing for the second time that evening.

"Is this one of your jokes?" she asked, hurt at the possibility that he would joke about this.

"Yeah," he said very seriously. "Can't you tell by all the laughter?"

"You … want me to marry you? Tonight?" she asked just to make sure she understood.

"Well if I just wanted to gamble with you, then we'd be heading to Atlantic City."

"Greg …" she stopped. "We can't get married." She stood up and started pacing around the room.

"Why not? We've known each other forever. And we have, what could be categorized, as deep feelings for one another."

"You've always railed against marriage. Talking about how married people are miserable and trapped with each other."

"I think everyone's miserable. I decided that I'd much rather be miserable with you than without you." Cuddy raised an eyebrow at that statement, and House sighed. "Most people go into marriage thinking that it will be all flowers and sunshine for the rest of their lives and bail out when reality sets in. We know what to expect from each other."

"You've never shown any interest in ever getting married. You were with Stacy for five years and never wanted to marry her."

"That's right – I didn't want to marry Stacy. I do want to marry you."

"Why? To protect our jobs when the Board finds out?" she asked a little angrily.

"No," he said and walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I know that this is out of the blue, but I've been thinking about this all afternoon. It will work. I'm not saying that it will be easy, but nothing really worth having is easy. I just realized that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I …" he looked down as he forced the words out. "I just don't want to look back on my life with any more regrets. I like who I am with you, and I'm pretty sure that you like who you are with me." Cuddy looked away, remembering her thoughts before he called.

"That doesn't mean that we should get married. We haven't even dated yet," she pointed out. This was insane. But what was most insane was that she didn't think it was as insane as she felt she should.

"Dating is for people who don't know each other."

"I'm not sure that I do know you very well right now," she yelled.

"Tell me," he asked as he grabbed her shoulders, "are you fighting this because you don't want to get married or because you're afraid of how much you do?"

Cuddy was silent as she looked away, but not before he saw the tears falling down her face. "Lisa," her eyes widened at the use of her first name. "I'm terrified too, but my gut is telling me that this is the right thing to do. And I don't want to make a big deal about it. I definitely don't want a fluffy wedding. I don't want to plan it or fight about who's invited. I just … want to do it. For us."

"We've never even had sex," she whispered.

"Well," he said in a reproachful voice, "if you hadn't taken so long to decide, we could have snagged a quickie before heading for the airport, but now we've got to get going. Although, I have to admit, I'm going to love telling the Board that we saved ourselves for marriage."

"Saved ourselves?" she said in disbelief.

"You know what I mean," he said. "Now change quickly so we can go."

"I don't have anything packed," she told him. He limped over to the other side of the bed where he pulled out a small suitcase and garment bag.

"I did it for you."

"Oh God," she said in a low voice. "I will not get married in my underwear, House," she warned.

"You'll just have to see what I packed for you when we get there. Let's go."

"Wait, is Wilson coming?'

"Is this that threesome thing again? Because I told you, only if the third person is a nubile young thing."

She smacked him arm lightly. "No. He is your best friend. We need a witness."

"Jimmy will find out later at I time that I determine. A time when the news will drive him over the edge. We'll get a witness there."

"What did he do?"

"I'll tell you later. Change so we can go."

----------

Cuddy kept on telling herself that this was an insane idea. She told herself that as she called the hospital and left a message that she would be missing an unheard of unexpected second day in a row. She told herself that the entire drive to the airport. She told herself that on the flight before she fell asleep on his shoulder. She told herself that when she woke up as the plane was landing and House was complaining about the drool stain she had left on his jacket. But no matter how often the Dean of Medicine told her that this was a bad idea, she couldn't quite make herself believe it. It felt right. And that, she decided, was actually the scariest thing of all.

It was still early by Las Vegas standards when they landed. House had managed to download a marriage license application off of the internet, and they filled it out on the flight. They went to the clerk's office and got the license, and then checked into a hotel to change. She opened up the garment bag that House had brought and smiled at the dress within. It was a black crochet halter dress over a nude lining. It was low cut and very sexy. She had bought it with House in mind.

"Do you approve?" he asked.

"Black for a wedding?" she asked.

"Well you're hardly a virgin," he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes and went to the bathroom to change.

"You can change out here, you know?" House called out. "We are getting married. I'm pretty sure it's allowed."

"Shut up. Let me do this my way or you'll be spending your wedding night alone."

"Fine."

About forty-five minutes later, she stepped back from the mirror and looked approvingly at her reflection. Her hair was falling softly around her shoulders and her make-up emphasized her eyes. She looked good.

"Cuddy! Tammy Faye doesn't take this long to put on her make-up," House shouted impatiently from the bedroom.

She opened the door and walked out. House looked at her and went slack-jawed.

"Wow," he whispered. "You know … we can get married two hours from now just as easily as now," he said as he reached out to touch a satiny shoulder.

"Sorry," Cuddy said with a laugh. "This was your idea. We're getting married now." She gave an appreciative glance at his suit. "You look very nice yourself. Come on, let's go," she said as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

"Fine. We'll go into the first Elvis chapel that we see, get married, and come back here for some really great sex."

"I will not get married by an Elvis impersonator," Cuddy said firmly.

"Cuddy … that's the best part about getting married in Vegas," House said playfully.

"No."

House just looked at her and smiled.

"All right, but I wasn't kidding about finding the first place that can get us done quickly. We have waited for this for way too long."

"Hey, this was your nutty idea. We could have been having the sex back in New Jersey all this time."

"Don't remind me," he said and they went off in search of a chapel.

They didn't have to look far. There were five chapels on the same street as their hotel alone.

"Pick one," House told her. Cuddy looked around and pointed to the chapel with the least amount of neon lighting. They walked into the doors and were greeted by a plump, red headed woman with a big smile on her face.

"Are you two wanting to get married?" she asked.

Cuddy elbowed House before he could say something sarcastic. "Yes," she replied.

"Here are our various packages," the woman said as she handed them a pink paper with prices all over it.

"Honey," House said in a sarcastic voice, "we can have an Elvis impersonator serenade us for only two hundred dollars."

"I don't think so, dear," Cuddy said with a smile.

House looked over to the woman who was watching them. "She really loves to wear the leather catsuit in the family."

"I don't think you could pull off a leather catsuit, House," Cuddy replied as she eyed the sheet. "I don't think we need anything fancy. We just want to get married as quickly as possible."

"I told her I wouldn't put out until I had that ring on my finger," House leered and Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"Well you won't have to make her wait much longer, dear," the woman said and took the paper back. "It will be about fifteen minutes."

House and Cuddy sat down and waited. Cuddy closed her eyes, once again telling herself that this was crazy and insane. She did not do things like this. Dr. Cuddy just didn't run off to Vegas to get married to her most problematic doctor.

House suddenly picked up her hand in his and he leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. He was silent for a few moments. "I know that I kind of sprang this on you and if you're having second thoughts, I'll understand. We can just go back to the hotel, if you want."

Cuddy looked into his eyes. She could tell that he still wanted to do this, but he was giving her an out if it was too fast for her. She chuckled through tears and closed her eyes. Maybe she had been a little too careful in her life. House was sure. And he would be the first to tell you that he was always right.

"I love you," she whispered back at him. "Let's get married," she said and she could feel him relax next to her.

"House and Cuddy. You're up next," the woman called from the doorway.

They got up and made their way to the chapel area. An older balding gentleman was there waiting for them.

"You guys ready for this," he asked them.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Cuddy replied with a nervous smile.

"Dearly Beloved …"

---------

They hadn't stopped kissing since the moment the minister had proclaimed them to be 'husband and wife.' House found it particularly difficult to navigate where he was going, but they managed to make it back to their hotel room. They attacked one another the moment the door to their room closed behind them.

House's senses came alive with her kisses. His brain went into overdrive as it cataloged all of the sensory information it was receiving. How wonderful every inch of her smelled. How soft her lips were as they began to move towards his neck. How smooth her skin was as he removed her dress. He heard himself groan as she straddled his lap and he stopped thinking altogether.

Their lovemaking was hard and fast – they had both wanted this for too long for it to be anything else – but it was also perfect. It was everything and nothing like either one had imagined it would be. It was passionate, but sweet. Intense, but fun. In short, it was just like the two of them.

Afterwards, Cuddy was lying on her back with her eyes closed, enjoying the afterglow. House was next to her with his arm draped possessively over her. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this content.

"I think that our marriage has been very successful so far," he said into her hair.

She chuckled delightedly as she played with his chest hair. "It's been okay," she said with a smile.

"Okay?" he asked in a mock hurt voice. "That's not what you were saying earlier."

"Really?' she asked in a puzzled voice. "I don't see why I would have said anything else."

He snorted in mock anger as he rolled her onto her back as he held her wrists above her head.

"Cuddy, it's really not good to lie. It gives you wrinkles," he said as he began to nuzzle her neck.

"Wrinkles?"

"Uh huh. And acne. I really don't want an acne ridden hag for a wife so I guess I'm just going to have to make you tell the truth," he said.

Cuddy smiled and enjoyed the sensations he was provoking with his talented lips. After a few moments, though, she suddenly realized what he was doing and stiffened under him.

"House! Are you giving me a hickey?" she asked

He chuckled into her neck. "It took you long enough to figure out," he said.

"Damn it! Now I have to be careful about what I wear when I get back to work."

"Yep," he said unashamedly. "And every time I look at you, I'm going to smile because I'll know that you're wearing the turtleneck because of me. Just promise me that you won't wear any of the Pilgrim Outfits."

"The Pilgrim Outfits?" she asked.

"You know. The white frilly crap you wear when the 'Old Biddy' donors come for a visit. The ones who wouldn't think that it was appropriate for a woman to wear sexually revealing clothes in the workplace. You have a standing lunch meeting with them on the first Wednesday of the month.

"You know entirely too much about my life," she said, only half-joking.

House raised his head and met her eyes with a smile. "There's no such thing as knowing too much about anything."

"Really?" she asked. "Does that mean I get to know all about you too?"

"What do you mean?"

She paused for a moment and he could see the confusion in her eyes. "Tell me what happened that brought all of this about. I know you said that you realized you wanted to be with me, but yesterday you weren't sure what you were willing to risk for a relationship. Then today …"

"We strapped on the proverbial ball and chain?"

"Not the way I would have put it, but yes."

House rolled back over onto his back and Cuddy rearranged herself so that once again she was lying in his arms and waited for his answer.

"Wilson used an exercise in creativity that allowed me to examine my feelings at a much closer level." Cuddy was silent for a moment as she translated his words.

"He played a trick on you?"

"Trick doesn't even cover it. The son of a bitch is lucky that this 'little trick' ultimately led to me getting laid, otherwise he would probably be in a crate bound for Timbuktu as we speak."

"What did he do?" Cuddy asked, wondering at his venom. House looked down at her and gently played with her hair as he remembered those interminable minutes when he had thought she was badly injured.

"He had Cameron tell me that you had been in a car accident," he said quietly

Cuddy gasped in surprise. "He … what?" she said, the disbelief evident in her voice. She could easily imagine the panic that House must have felt.

"Yeah. I'm sure my performance was everything he'd hoped for. He stopped me just as I was about to run into the ER to see you."

"I'm surprised you didn't kill him."

"No, I just jabbed him as hard as I could in the stomach with my cane and walked away." He sighed thoughtfully. "I can't be too angry. It got me through my mental block, and here I am," he said with a smile.

"Yes. Here you are." Cuddy was silent for another moment and House could see her considering something else. "How on earth did he convince Cameron to help? When I told her to lie to you, she acted as if I had told her to drown some puppies."

"This is Wilson we're talking about. He can convince anyone to do anything. It's one of the reasons why he's been married three times. He told me that he fed her some tripe about helping true love find its way through the dark and stormy waters of doubt and uncertainty, and she, being a full-fledged out of the closet romantic, couldn't help but agree to help him with his dastardly plan."

"They're both going to be unbearable when they find out that we're together, let alone married."

"Well we aren't telling them that second part for a while. Until then, I'll think of something to take them down a notch or two."

Cuddy giggled and House felt a surge of unfamiliar happiness well through him. He held her close and let his mind wander. This was going to take some getting used to. He wasn't used to being happy and he wasn't entirely sure if he was equipped for it. He enjoyed being the miserable bastard. He scowled at the stray thought that he might actually become routinely pleasant to people.

"I can always assign you more clinic hours," Cuddy told him.

House's gaze jerked down to her and he was started to see a knowing smile on her face.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Weren't you just lying there, worrying that being happy would screw with your mojo?"

House didn't answer.

"Greg," Cuddy said as she turned to run her fingers through his hair, "you have been an insatiably curious asshole since the day I met you. That didn't change all through college. It didn't change when you were with Stacy, and it didn't change after the infarction. It's not going to change because of me."

He pulled her closer. "I know," he said. "I just …" he trailed off, uncertain how to put his fears into words.

"I know," she said softly.

He looked down and met her gaze. "You do, don't you?"

"Yes. And it's impolite to brood on your wedding night so stop, understand?"

"Aye aye, Captain,"

"Good. I'd hate to have to kick your ass so soon in the marriage."

"Damn. How long do I have to wait before you would be willing to do a little ass kicking?" House asked as he let his fingers wander over her curves.

"Why?" Cuddy asked as she enjoyed his caresses.

"I kind of like the idea of you getting firm with me," he teased.

"Really?" Cuddy asked mischievously. House suddenly found Cuddy straddling him with a slightly wicked smile on her face. "Has Greg been a bad boy?"

"Oh you don't even know the half of it," he responded as he pulled her down to meet him in a passionate kiss.

After several moments, his lips began to wander to that spot just under her left ear that was particularly sensitive. "House," she said.

"Mmhmm," he murmured.

"You make me happy too." He pulled away a bit and she could see the understanding in his gaze. Cuddy leaned over to kiss him again, and – as House would put it later – he let her have her way with him yet again.

A/N2: Ok. Here's the updated version. I'm sorry it took me so long to get it up here. I'm not sure how I feel about the final product, but it was something that I had to do. So. Here it is.


	19. Epilogue

Rediscovery

By Ellie

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: For the purposes of this fic, Wilson and Julie haven't split up yet.

Epilogue

House stood next to the whiteboard as he and his staff worked on a diagnosis. He and Cuddy had been married for about a week and things couldn't have been better. The only major problem so far was trying to figure out where to live. Her place had stairs and his wasn't big enough. They had eventually decided to quietly look for a place of their own, but in the mean time they were living at both homes. He and Cuddy had both decided not to flaunt their relationship at the hospital. They agreed that if asked, they would tell the truth, but until then it was no one else's business but their own.

Wilson and -- thanks to Cameron -- his entire staff knew that they were at least together, but after some judicious threatening on his part about the dangers of gossiping about one's boss in the work place, they had all agreed to keep their mouths shut.

Cuddy had thanked Wilson and Cameron for their part in getting them together. House, on the other hand, although satisfied with the final outcome, was still upset at their little trick and had spent the past week planning his revenge. _'In fact,'_ he mused as he quietly checked his watch before writing something else on the whiteboard, '_Wilson should be coming in just about now.'_

"House!" Wilson yelled as he entered the office. "You are a complete and total asshole. Why … why would you do this? No, I know why. Your ego can't handle the thought that I pulled one over on you – even for your own benefit – and you feel like you have to get even. You're lucky Julie's not here. She's planning your demise as we speak."

"There's nothing new with that. She's been planning my demise since she met me."

"Yes, but this morning she asked me if we owned a shovel."

"What did he do to you?" Cameron asked in a bewildered voice.

"Well," Wilson began, glaring at House as he pulled out a newspaper, "someone –"

"You have no proof it was me," House reminded him.

Wilson just scowled as he continued, "Someone placed an ad in the Princeton Packet this morning that says, 'Married to a Nazi. She's making me give up the porn. Huge collection dating back to the 80's. Call day or night. Must get rid of A.S.A.P.' and then it gives my phone number to call."

Chase and Foreman burst out into laughter, but Cameron stared at House horrified.

"House that is stupid and juvenile – even for you."

"He deserved it."

"He was trying to help."

"Whatever. The both of you have been walking around with self-satisfied smirks on your face for the past week. Well no more!"

"Am I going to find an ad in there offering to sell my porn collection too?" she asked sarcastically.

House snorted. "That would show a lack of imagination on my part."

"But …"

"Hey, stop being so selfish! We've got a patient here who needs our help. What tests were we talking about before we were so rudely interrupted?" House asked as he glared at Wilson.

Wilson glared right back and shook his head. "This isn't over," he warned. House merely smiled.

"Oh you think he'd learn," he said to no one in particular. Cameron just rolled her eyes.

"Now where were we?" They finished discussing the case and came up with a list of tests they felt needed to be run. House then dismissed them. As he stood up, Chase knocked over a pile of books that Cameron had been looking at. Chase bent over to help Cameron pick them up as Foreman left to get the tests started. Cameron took the opportunity to lecture House.

"You know, one of these days you may push him too far," she warned him.

It was House's turn to roll his eyes. "Trust me to sort out my relationship with Wilson, thank you very much. You would do good to watch your own back, missy."

"Remind me never to do anything nice for you again."

"You think you would have figured it out after the first hundred or so attempts," House shot back at her.

Cameron left, clearly not amused, and clearly not noticing sign proudly proclaiming 'Masturbation is a right!' that had been stuck to her back. Chase watched her leave and then turned to House who placed a fifty dollar bill in his outstretched hand.

"Nice misdirection with the falling books," House said admiringly.

"Yeah, well spending two years in a seminary teaches you a few things about practical jokes."

"Aren't you worried about revenge?"

"Nah. She'll get huffy and complain, but she doesn't have it in her to get really nasty."

"I'm working on that," House said with a smile.

----

Cuddy was giving a potential donor a tour of the hospital when she saw Dr. Cameron walking down the hallway. It wasn't as much Dr. Cameron who got her attention as the slew of hospital personnel who were pointing and giggling behind her.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Wright," Cuddy said to the older woman as she headed towards the younger doctor.

"Dr. Cuddy," Cameron said as Cuddy approached her, turned her around, and snatched the paper off of her back.

"Here," Cuddy said as she handed the paper to Cameron. Cameron read the paper and her face turned a deep shade of red.

"He got no where near me …" she said in a confused voice. "I don't know how he …" she turned at looked at Cuddy. "He's insane."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I was kind of hoping that you would be a moderating influence on him," Cameron admitted.

Cuddy snorted. "House isn't going to change for anyone. He knows that I don't expect that of him. You should probably lay low until something else grabs his attention."

"Thanks for the warning," Cameron said as she headed to the patient's room.

"A problem, Dr. Cuddy?" Mrs. Wright came up behind Cuddy to ask. Cuddy put on her best professional smile before she turned to face her.

"No, not at all. Just a little practical joke between colleagues," she said smoothly.

"Oh," the other woman said.

"Dr. Cuddy!" she heard an infuriatingly familiar voice hell from behind her.

"I'm sorry, excuse me again," she said as she turned and headed towards House.

"Nice little sign on Cameron's back," she hissed at him.

He smirked. "I did not go near her," he said.

"Yes, but I'm sure you arranged for it to make its way to her back."

House just shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't you have clinic?" she asked.

"Who is that?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"A donor. Go to the clinic."

"I want to meet her."

"No you don't. You just want to give me a heart attack," she said in a threatening voice.

"Cuddy …"

"House, I don't expect you to change so don't expect me to change and stop trying to shield the donors from your particular brand of insanity. Now go do your job."

He was about to say something when he noticed that the donor had begun to walk towards them.

"I can't leave now," he told her with a smile. "It would look rude."

Cuddy glared and then turned to greet the donor again.

"Mrs. Wright, is there something you needed?" she asked.

"Oh no, I just realized that this gentleman looked familiar, and I wanted to meet him."

Cuddy managed to hide her reflexive shudder. "Mrs. Evelyn Wright, this is Dr. Gregory House. He's the head of the Diagnostics Department here at Princeton-Plainsboro."

"Dr. House," she began. "You're the doctor who helped treat that nice young man who was running for president," she said.

"Yep," he said. "Now he's healthy enough to lie to the American people for years to come."

Mrs. Wright smiled.

Cuddy felt it was important to get House out of there as soon as humanly possible. "Dr. House was just leaving to do his clinic duty for the week."

"Oh, it's so nice that a doctor of your standing still takes time to see regular patients."

"For me, it's all about the patient," House said in a sincere voice. Cuddy didn't quite manage to stop herself from snorting at his declaration. House glanced over in Cuddy's direction and she felt tiny pinpricks of alarm at his expression. "Plus, if I don't do my clinic hours, then Dr. Cuddy here pulls out her riding crop, and things just get ugly from there."

Cuddy could feel her cheeks grow warm as Mrs. Wright's eyes widened in surprise.

"Good-bye Dr. House," Cuddy said in a firm tone. House smiled and headed towards the elevator.

Cuddy was surprised to hear an amused chuckle come from Mrs. Wright's direction.

"He reminds me of my husband."

"Oh god," Cuddy said in horror as she turned towards Mrs. Wright, and then she realized how that must have sounded. "I'm sorry … I mean, just the thought that there's more than one of him out there …"

"Oh, no need to apologize, my dear. I have to admit, that my Joseph lacks your Dr. House's flair for the dramatic, but he also enjoys saying things just to get a rise out of people. I can't take him anywhere."

Cuddy laughed. "I definitely know that feeling."

"I have to admit, though, that for as often as I want to strangle him, I wouldn't have him be any different."

Cuddy's gaze followed House where he had just gotten on the elevator. He smiled and stuck his tongue out at her. She turned to meet Mrs. Wright's warm gaze. "Honestly, neither would I," she said softly and then forced her voice to become more professional. "I believe that we have a tour to finish."

Mrs. Wright smiled and took Cuddy's arm. "That we do, but I'm already very impressed by the work that you do here. I expect that we'll be able to help you out a great deal. Just promise me that we'll figure out a way to introduce my husband to Dr. House. I'm not sure what would happen, but it would definitely be entertaining."

"Definitely," Cuddy agreed. "We might even be able to sell tickets to raise money for the hospital," she suggested.

Mrs. Wright laughed merrily. "What a wonderful idea. I can see how you've come so far so fast in your life."

Their laughter filled the hallway as they walked arm in arm while they continued to talk of their plans for the hospital. _'Yes,'_ Cuddy reflected to herself with a smile. _'I wouldn't change a thing.'_

The End.

A/N2: Yay! I'm done! All practical jokes came from As I mentioned earlier, I do have the beginnings of another Huddy story running around in my head, but I'm participating in a 24 challenge that I have to write first.


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